The Latest from Gaza/Palestine (22 January)

Latest Post: The Gaza Conflict Reaches Home - Demonstrations at the University of Birmingham

11:40 p.m. And is that an Obama pre-emptive strike in the US approach to Iran? He declares that all external support for "terrorist organizations in the Middle East" must be halted.

11:35 p.m. But George Mitchell, I fear, may already be boxed in by his President. After declaring to applause that "the US will not torture", Obama firmly declared that Hamas must not re-arm and recognise Israel's right to exist.

The question is whether the US Government will discreetly talk to Hamas in advance of such a statement, hoping to move the organisation towards recognition of Tel Aviv, or set recognition as a pre-condition for any discussions. If the latter, the Mitchell mission is a non-starter.

11:30 p.m. George Mitchell's opening statement was professional and suitably non-committal. He said there was no conflict that could not be resolved and promised a sustained effort by the Obama Administration towards Middle Eastern peace.

A reader notes, "The word Palestinians was used twice, the word Ireland I lost count. Good to know they're sending a clear message."



10:45 p.m. Confirmation that George Mitchell will be Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East. The former Senator and experienced negotiator, who helped broker the 1998 Northern Ireland agreement and served as Bill Clinton's envoy in 2000 to Israel and Palestine, is of Lebanese descent. Officials and Administration contacts are keen to play up Mitchell as an honest broker: ""He's neither pro-Israeli nor pro-Palestinian. He's, in a sense, neutral."

10 p.m. Ha'aretz reports that Hamas is pledging to distribute a total of $37 million to the Gazan population from Sunday. It's a shrewd political as well as economic move, if it can be pulled off, as the Palestinian Authority has been prevented by Israel from distributing $60 million in Gaza since the war began on 27 December.

5:30 p.m. We've just posted on the significance of an extended comment by Moussa Abu Marzook, the deputy political director of Hamas, in The Guardian of London.

1:55 p.m. Speaking to Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin, European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner not only rebuffs Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal's approach for talks but presses "inter-Palestinian reconcilation": "There is a President elected by all the Palestinians: that is Mahmoud Abbas." European Commissioner will not talk to Hamas until it "renounces violence and recognises Israel".

(Note: Technically, Abbas' term as President ended on 9 January.)

1:50 p.m. Important development: Egypt is hosting meeting with Palestinian factions under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which includes Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Hamas is still "forming its delegation" to go to Cairo. Topics will include reconstruction.

This is not quite a "reconciliation" meeting, but it at least gets Hamas in the same location as the groups in the PLO.

1:30 p.m. Al Jazeera reporting at least 100,000 Gazans homeless.



12:30 p.m. The United Nations has released photographs of the Israeli assault on its compound, including what appear to be white phosphorous "wedges" falling upon the buildings.

11:30 a.m. Stephen Erlanger's analysis in today's New York Times of the Israel/Palestine situation opens with a howler:

The new Obama administration faces an immediate policy choice: support a Palestinian unity government, as Egypt and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, want, or continue to isolate Hamas and concentrate on building up the West Bank as a political alternative to radical Islam.

This, of course, is not a choice. The support of Abbas and the Palestinian Authority is part of the strategy to isolate Hamas. Erlanger apparently doesn't fathom that the political coding of "Palestinian unity government", as long as no one will speak with Hamas, means the support of one Palestinian faction over another.

11:10 a.m. Meanwhile, in the Symbolic but Largely Irrelevant Department: UN Security Council unanimously adopts statement, drafted by Britain and France, welcoming "ceasefires", expressing "grave concern" over humanitarian situation, and calling on member states to step up efforts to stop arms trafficking and ensure the reopening of all crossings in the territory.

It's largely irrelevant because the statement puts no pressure on Israel to relinquish its grip on Gazan economy and infrastructure, let alone reopen the crossings. Conversely, the reference to an end to arms trafficking will be seen as support of the US-Europe-Israel initiative to police the sea-lanes and tunnels of Gaza.

11:00 a.m. Juan Cole has an excellent review of the situation in Gaza, asking --- among other questions --- where Israel's military attempt to break Hamas has actually strengthened the organisation.

Morning update (10:30 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization issued a statement from Ramallah on Wednesday that "any resumption of peace talks with Israel would require the Jewish state to commit to withdraw from land occupied in 1967 and freeze all settlement activity".

This can be read as an attempt by the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas to regain some initiative after the Gaza conflict, with the PA trying to shape an agenda ahead of President Obama's appointment of George Mitchell as Middle Eastern envoy later today. It will be intriguing to see if the US and Israel accept the PA's placing of these issues on the table; if they don't, then the PA is in a very difficult, almost subservient, position.

Of course, this does nothing to approach the Gaza situation but is in effect an attempt to work around it.

A Gaza Settlement? Hamas' Signals in The Guardian of London

The Guardian of London runs an extended comment by Moussa Abu Marzook, the deputy political director of Hamas.

The first section is the defiance you would expect, with Marzook claiming that "Israel lost, and lost decisively", as Palestinian resistance was not broken. Marzook, however, then leaves a couple of important political signals and leaves a question answered.



Marzook's first signal is that Hamas clearly sees a wider goal in the Israeli invasion and is looking to counter-act that through diplomatic manoeuvres: "Europe must accept that bringing back Abbas on an Israeli tank is not an option." As we noted earlier today, the European Commission has rebuffed the approach of Khaled Meshaal, Marzook's boss, but Hamas could well be pressing its case, especially in light of the clear weaknesses of the Palestinian Authority.

Marzook's second signal is a brief but direct challenge to the new US Administration to engage with Hamas: "To President Obama we say: the wave of hope that met your election was heavily dampened by your silence on the Gaza massacre."

And the hanging question? Consider Marzook's final sentence, directed to President Obama: "Only if you decide to fairly address the issue of the 6 million Palestinian refugees and the ending of occupation of Palestinian lands, including Jerusalem, will you be able to start a new relationship with the Muslim world."

Do "Palestianian lands" refer to all of pre-1948 Palestine, effectively removing Israel as a political entity, or do "Palestinian lands" refer to the post-1948 territories of the West Bank and Gaza? In the answer to that question, in effect the possibility of a settlement in which Israel returns to its borders before 1967, may be an eventual agreement.

But only if Hamas is inside, not outside, the negotiations.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Updates (21 January)

See also: It's Morning in America: The Day after the Inauguration

12:10 a.m. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has reported to the UN Security Council after his trip to Gaza and Israel, and he's just a bit upset. Speaking about (or rather having his deputy speak, as Ban had lost his voice) the "several incidents of outrageous attacks against U.N. facilities," Ban said, "I expect to receive a full explanation of each incident and that those responsible will be held accountable for their actions."

This does not make up for the UN leadership's impotence in this conflict --- Ban admitted a "collective political failure" --- but at least it shows that, once he realised how badly Israel had damaged his facilities and threatened his staff, Ban could put his de facto support of Tel Aviv into a critical context.

10:20 p.m. Trying to counter Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's courtship of European nations to join Israeli effort to isolate Hamas further, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has made his own appeal: "I tell European nations ... three years of trying to eliminate Hamas is enough. It is time for you to deal with Hamas, which has gained legitimacy through struggle."

Meshaal may have an opportunity. France, rather quietly, indicated Tuesday that it may be ready to talk to Hamas, even in advance of the organisation's recognition of Israel.



9:45 p.m. Israeli Prime Ministerial candidate and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak blows smoke: ""The IDF has drastically changed the unbearable reality in Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip. This outstanding operation has increased Israel's deterrence in the entire region; the IDF's clear victory was the result of meticulous planning and skilled execution."

Even if you accept the red herring of stopping Hamas' rocket fire --- when regime change was the primary aim of the Israeli operation --- Israel is in the same position that it was, say, from June-October 2008. Politically, it is no better and, possibly, worse off.

8:45 p.m. Israeli Supreme Court has reversed the ban on two Arab political parties, imposed last week, from standing in next month's elections.

7:45 p.m. Alive in Gaza has posted its latest written report from correspondents in Gaza. The correspondents report general calm, but there are naval battles between Israeli and Palestinian forces and a child has died after stepping on an unexploded cluster bomb.

7:35 p.m. Welcome to the New White House Spin Zone. Press secretary Robert Gibbs passes on news of the Obama calls to Olmert and Abbas, "He used this opportunity on his first day in office to communicate his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term, and to express his hope for their continued cooperation and leadership."

Surprisingly, there was no reference to a call to Hamas.

7:25 p.m. Shhhh, don't tell the Israeli Air Force: local residents say some smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza have reopened.

7:15 p.m. Obama has called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as well as Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas.

5:55 p.m. Confirmation that Obama called the head of the Palestinian authority on Wednesday: “Obama reiterated that he and his administration will work in full partnership with President [Mahmoud] Abbas to achieve peace in the region,” Saeb Erekat, the PA’s chief negotiator, said.

No word on whether Obama called the leaders of Hamas.

5:05 p.m. A Belgian court has been petitioned by attorneys, of behalf of French and Belgian relatives of slain Gazans, to arrest Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni when she arrives in Brussels later on Wednesday.

4:30 p.m. Hamas reasserts control over security in Gaza: an Interior Ministry spokesman says, "The internal security service was instructed to track collaborators and hit them hard. They arrested dozens of collaborators who attempted to strike the resistance by giving information to the occupation about the fighters."

4:15 p.m. In an excellent article in today's New York Times, Sabrina Tavernise speaks with Gazan residents whose farming village was reduced "to rubble":

In [Juhr el Dik's] center is now a giant swath of destruction where about 40 houses once stood. “It’s an earthquake,” said Salim Abu Ayadah, the mayor of the town, whose house was among those destroyed. “When I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I couldn’t walk.”

2:15 p.m. Vice Premier Haim Ramon to Israel radio: "Let's not fear President Obama. I am convinced that President Obama and his team want to achieve what is essential to Israel -- two states for two peoples."

2:10 p.m. Estimated cost of reconstruction of Gaza: $2 billion

12:30 p.m. No Kidding Story of the Day: "Egypt dominance as Mideast mediator in doubt" (Reuters may want to make the minor correction, however, that Egypt was never a mediator in this conflict, rather a channel to achieve Israel's aims as well as Cairo's).

12:20 p.m. Iran says that "Palestinian resistance", not-too-subtle code for Hamas, has right to arms. (Not news to me --- in an interview for Iranian News Agency on Monday, I was asked several times in several ways if Gaza should have "tanks and helicopters" for self-defence)

11:10 a.m. Ayman Moyheldin of Al Jazeera reports firing by Israeli navy off Gaza coast, although it is unclear whether it was aiming at shore targets or deterring Gazan fishermen. Israeli forces still massed on Israel's side of the border.

11:05 a.m. Israeli Defense Forces come close to admission to use of white phosphorous, with spokeswoman Amital Leibovich insisting, "We used munitions according to international law." More significantly, "Ma'ariv reported that the IDF had privately admitted using phosphorus bombs and that the Judge Advocate General's Office and Southern Command were investigating."

11 a.m. Press TV of Iran's top stories: 1) Iran wants Israeli leaders to stand trial for war crimes; 2) Israel withdraws from Gaza; 3) Obama promises "better relations" with Muslim world. Al Jazeera focuses on Obama's likely appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy.

9:40 a.m. Israeli officials are busily telling the press that "Barack Obama is a 'true friend of Israel' who identifies emotionally not only with the state, but also with the people of Israel".

Morning update (9:30 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): The Israeli Army did not complete its withdrawal from Gaza in time for the Obama Inauguration, but it has now stated that all units have left the area.

No further moves on the diplomatic or humanitarian front, especially on the issue of rebuilding Gaza. However, the Israeli YNetNews is reporting that European Union Foreign Ministers will announce on Wednesday "their intention to contribute units, vessels, and technological means in order to curb weapon transfers from Iran to Hamas". Just as intriguing is the claim that "Israel and Western countries are currently engaged in a race against Iran in an effort to prevent Tehran from leading the Gaza reconstruction efforts".

Our colleagues at Alive in Gaza have posted an interesting audio interview with photojournalist Sameh Habeeb on Gazan reaction to the arrival of President Obama --- "Obama neglected the Palestinians" --- as well as a transcript of an earlier interview during the conflict.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Updates (20 January)

See also: Chris Emery on Israeli Elections and the Gaza Crisis: What Has Changed?

12:30 a.m. That's all for today. No real diplomatic shifts, and the story of a possible full Israeli withdrawal to welcome President Obama was clearly spin.

Most dramatic development was UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's speech when he discovered the extent of the destruction wrought by Israeli forces. Whether his emotive criticism of Tel Aviv has any effect, especially as he went straight from Gaza to a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is another question.

Good night and peace to all.

11:55 p.m. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has moved to re-define any initiatives for a settlement with Hamas, announcing in a campaign speech that Israel will not end its blockade of Gaza until there is progress in talks on the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held in Gaza since June 2006.

Meanwhile, Israel has re-confirmed its strategy to get the Palestinian Authority back into Gaza, declaring that any aid to the area should go through the UN, non-governmental organisations, or the PA.

11:40 p.m. The International Atomic Energy Agency will investigate complaints, lodged by ambassadors of Arab countries, that Israel has used depleted uranium in its munitions during the Gaza conflict.

11:30 p.m. Ha'aretz is reporting skirmishes in violation of the Gaza cease-fire on Tuesday. After Palestinian militants (not necessarily from Hamas) fired eight mortars, the Israeli Defense Forces launched an airstrike on the positions. Gunmen also fired on Israeli troops in two separate incidents.



9:45 p.m. Repeating the- importanfiret news from earlier today: Arab countries at the Kuwait summit have been unable to agree on how to support reconstruction in Gaza, disagreeing on whether aid can be dispersed via Hamas.

Meanwhile, it appears that the Obama Administration will name former Senator George Mitchell, who was instrumental in the negotiations of an agreement on Northern Ireland, as his envoy to the Middle East.

9:30 p.m. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has phoned Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to congratulate Hamas on the "victory achieved by confronting the Zionist aggression on Gaza".

9:20 p.m. We're back after a break to live-blog the Inaugural of President Barack Obama.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been quick to offer thanks to former President George W. Bush and a welcome to Obama:

The values of democracy, brotherhood and freedom that constitute the building blocks of American society are also shared by Israeli society, together with the faith in man's power and ability to change and influence his surroundings. We wish the incoming President success in his office and are certain that we will be full partners in advancing peace and stability in the Middle East.

3:35 p.m. Al Jazeera's Mouin Rabbani on Ban's statement: "Those were very, very, very powerful words. We haven't seen a leader of this stature speak such language...condemning Israel but not the Palestinians, using the term 'Palestinian self-determination', calling for investigations and accountability....The Rubicon has been crossed here."

3:15 p.m. Ah, there he is: Ban Ki-Moon emerges, a bit shaken from his debriefing by UN staff. He is "not able to describe" how he feels about the damage and devastation, and he has "expressed his utter frustration, his utter anger" about the attack on the UN compound, asking for those responsible to be accountable.

Political questions remain: Ban continues to press the notion of "Palestinian unity", possibly without any consideration that this might imply the imposition of the Palestinian Authority upon Gaza.

2:45 p.m. UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon is still in hiding in the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza. Al Jazeera has been featuring a shot of a bank of microphones on an empty podium for the last 90 minutes.

1:40 p.m. Arab leaders at Kuwait summit pledge $2 billion for Gaza reconstruction but divide sharply over how to distribute aid: Egypt and Saudi Arabia oppose direct provision to Hamas. On the symbolic front, there is some consensus with the call for Israeli political and military leaders to be tried for war crimes.

1:10 p.m. Donald Macintyre in The Independent of London has more details of the Zeitoun mass killing.

1:02 p.m. Oh, good, a fight over the military figures rather than the humanitarian toll: Israel claims more than 500 Hamas fighters killed (vs. Hamas claim of 48 and "Palestinian factions" claim of 112 plus 170 policemen), more than 12oo of Hamas' 2000 rockets destroyed, and 80 percent of tunnels shut down.

1 p.m. Robert Fisk sums up yesterday's Kuwait summit in nine words: "There was really no adequate comment for this charade."

12:50 p.m. The medical crisis continues: Nasser Medical Compound in Khan Younis has appealed to Arab nursing unions and international organizations to “urgently send nursing staff” to the Gaza Strip to fill a large void there.

12:40 p.m. I don't know if UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is lost, or just too embarrassed to come out, but still no press conference from his visit to Gaza.

12:30 p.m. Interesting dichotomy in Gaza coverage in US and Britain: while broadcast networks have largely moved away from the news service, print journalists --- some belatedly getting access to sites and sources --- are continuing to highlight the legal and humanitarian issues. Sheera Frenkel of The Times has followed the articles in The Guardian with a human-interest story from Israeli attacks on Jabaliya, "Blind and burnt: Mahmoud, 14, young victim of banned white phosphorus shelling", and the revelation: "The Times has uncovered dozens of incidents in which doctors say that civilians have been wounded by white phosphorus."

12:15 p.m. So much for that Arab "Consensus"? Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has apparently told news services that delegations at the Kuwait summit "are unable to agree on a unified statement about Gaza".

10:20 a.m. Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin continues to warn of possible outbreak of disease, with bodies now weeks old and sewage flowing over in many areas.

9:55 a.m. Eyewitnesses are telling Al Jazeera that Israeli troops are destroying buildings and infrastructure as they pull back in Gaza.

9:45 a.m. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will be in Gaza in just over an hour.

Morning Updates (8 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): The Central Bureau of Statistics in Palestine has confirmed more than 1300 Gazans have been killed and more than 5400 wounded in the conflict. More than 4,000 buildings were destroyed; another 18,000 were severely damaged. The total cost to Gaza of the invasion is more than $1.9 billion. A new and staggering figure: more than 80 percent of Gazan crops were destroyed.

Hamas has survived as the Gazan leadership, however, and it will offer a public demonstration today with a "victory rally".

Meanwhile, Barack Obama's team keep insisting that he will now enter the diplomatic arena, named a special envoy to the Middle East today. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will maintained his even-handed intervention with a visit to Sderot in southern Israel; there are reports he will also visit the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (10 January)

Latest Story: The Plan to Bring Fatah into Gaza — Livni Speaks
The Final Bush Legacy: Why the US Abstained on the Gaza Resolution
Latest Story: The Plan to Bring Fatah into Gaza?

12:10 a.m. With a lull in activity, we're going for some downtime. We half-expected a major Israeli ground attack before dawn but it appears that the Israeli Cabinet may still be undecided about pushing into Gazan cities.

Meanwhile, it's safe --- and sad --- to say that all is stalled on the political front. This has settled into a frustrating circle: none of the major players wants to appear to make a concession to Hamas (since most of those players want to get rid of the organisation) and, without a concession such as the opening of border crossings, Hamas will not negotiate for a cease-fire.



11:25 p.m. Israeli military says seven soldiers "lightly wounded" on Saturday. More than 60 targets hit in airstrikes. Suicide bomber killed in northern Gaza.

Four members of same family killed by Israeli tank shell near Beit Lahiya.

10:15 p.m. Israeli bombing raids in northeastern Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli "information" services brings out their secret weapon: "internationally-renowned singer Noa", who speaks for peace to "Palestinian brothers":

Now I see the ugly head of fanaticism, I see it large and horrid, I see its black eyes and spine-chilling smile, I see blood on its hands and I know one of its many names :Hamas.

9:55 p.m. Watching Khaled Meshaal recorded statement: while he says Israel has ruined chance of peace, I think he has set down a marker: Hamas will negotiate if there is an unconditional opening of the crossings (which Israel will not accept, of course)

9:50 p.m. Khaled Mashaal, Hamas leader in Damascus, tells Al Jazeera that Israel has failed in Gaza, achieving only "a holocaust which your leaders are trying to use for the next election".

9:45 p.m. Report of 500-1000 demonstrators in front of Israeli Embassy in London. Shoes and signs being thrown, and riot police charging the crowd.

9 p.m. Four Israeli F-16 jets violate Egyptian airspace.

8:30 p.m. Human Rights Watch tells Al Jazeera that it is "convinced" Israeli military is using white phosphorous

8:15 p.m. Information or disinformation? Israel's Channel 2 claims some Hamas fighters are wearing civilian clothes and some are impersonating IDF soldiers.

7:50 p.m. "Rafah Kid" is blogging with updates and opinion from Rafah, Gaza.

7:40 p.m. BBC says up to 50,000 at London demonstration for Gaza. Participants estimate more than 100,000.

6:20 p.m. Israeli military claims that it has killed Gaza City commander of Hamas rocket launching programme.

4:25 p.m. Diplomatic battle lines drawn between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas. Abbas in Cairo supports "international presence in the Gaza Strip", but Hamas delegation says it was not consulted.

While Abbas covered his back with the warning, "If Israel doesn't want to accept, it will take the responsibility of perpetuating a waterfall of blood," he also set up Hamas for the fall if it does not accept the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal: "If any party does not accept it, regrettably it will be the one bearing the responsibility."

4:15 p.m. Associated Press says leaflets dropped by Israel throughout Gaza announce "a new phase in the war on terror". Israeli Army calls the leaflets "a general warning".

3:45 p.m. Diplomatic negotiations going nowhere. Egypt and the Palestinian Authority have rejected the placement in Egypt of international observers for the Gaza-Egypt border, while Hamas have rejected the placement of an international force in Gaza.

3:40 p.m. From the diary of Sami Abdel Shafi, management consultant and columnist in Gaza City:

Whatever capacity we did have to run our own affairs is now no longer there, and it will make it extraordinarily difficult for the Gaza Strip to go forward whenever the war does end.

Only then will people discover the real cost of this war, when we have to look around and ask just how we begin a rebuilding effort on such a massive scale.

3:35 p.m. UN says three-hour respite not enough to allow resumption of aid deliveries in Gaza.

3:30 p.m. Israel dropping leaflets on Gaza City residents warning them to stay indoors as it plans to "escalate" offensive.

2:15 p.m. The interview with Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert could have a significant impact if it spreads beyond Al Jazeera, which is featuring it each hour. Gilbert is saying that the injuries he is seeing are not from "ordinary" shrapnel but from DIME (dense inert metal explosive) weapons.

Claims that the Israelis used DIME in Gaza first surfaced in 2006. The weapons have not been declared illegal, but the injuries caused show severe heat as well as percussive damage.

2 p.m. Israeli ground offensive imminent? Israeli Cabinet approves call-up of "unlimited" number of reservists

1:45 p.m. Explosions continue despite supposed three-hour "respite".

1:25 p.m. United Nations official Chris Gunness says Israeli Defense Forces have admitted responsibility for the Jabiliya school/shelter bombing:

In briefings senior officers conducted for foreign diplomats, they admitted the shelling to which IDF forces in Jabalya were responding did not originate from the school. The IDF admitted in that briefing that the attack on the UN site was unintentional.

Gunness added that footage released by the IDF, trying to show Hamas fighters operated from the school in 2007, was filmed after the UN had temporarily abandoned the site.

1:10 p.m. Israeli military says three-hour "respite" began at 1 p.m. Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin reports that Israeli forces have surrounded all major population centers in Gaza City.

UN is now investigating the Zeitoun mass killing.

1 p.m. Gazan death toll now 815.

12:40 p.m. Israeli tank shell kills eight members of a family in Jabaliya camp.

12:10 p.m. In Cairo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal a "rescue initiative" which is "the only mechanism" to end Gaza war. Sharp-eyed readers will note that Abbas makes no reference to the UN cease-fire resolution passed just over 24 hours ago.

12:05 p.m. Latest Israeli airstrike just outside Gaza City as Ayman Moyheldin reports live on Al Jazeera.

12 noon: Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor, says 165 dead children and more than 1200 wounded children brought to al Shifa hospital to date.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin says Israelis are bringing aid into warehouse but international agencies cannot and will not distribute because of security issues and shortage of fuel. No resumption of aid shipments so far. Close combat between Israeli and Hamas forces overnight, with unknown number of Hamas fighters killed and five Israeli troops wounded.

11:10 a.m. Journalists in Gaza demonstrate after the Israeli strike on a building used by media.

11 a.m. Poll of the Day: Hamas' military branch, the Al Qassam Brigades, offers visitors to their English website the choice of "Keep Calm", "Resume Rockets", "Resume Operations". Right now, it's 40 percent each for "Keep Calm" and "Resume Operations", with 20 percent for "Resume Rockets".

Morning Update: Israeli operations continue overnight, with strikes on more than 40 targets, as talks begin in Cairo on the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal.

Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, "expressed disappointment that the violence is continuing on the ground in disregard". A UN official has called for a war crimes investigation of Israeli actions.

More to our follow-up on the Zeitoun mass killing: The Guardian has an article --- it appears at least 30 members of the al-Samouni clan died in the Israeli shelling of a house, and up to 30 other civilians died nearby. The dead and wounded lay unattended for up to four days.

More than 800 Gazans have been killed since the start of the conflict two weeks ago. Thirteen Israelis, of whom 10 are soldiers, have been killed --- in contrast to the claims of the Al Qassam Brigades that they killed eight Israeli troops in an ambush, claims no losses on Friday.