Rolling Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)

Later Story: Follow-Up: That State Department Twitter-Diplomacy….Gives the Game Away?
Later Story: Inconvenient (Rocket) Facts: Israel Still Can't Get It Right
Later Story: Rice to UN: US Seeks Regime Change in Gaza
Later Story: Inconvenient (Rocket) Facts: Israel Gets Caught Out by the BBC


12:45 p.m. Relatively quiet on both military and diplomatic fronts --- not expecting much out of any United Nations discussions --- so we're off for some downtime.

Tomorrow should offer some clues on the political direction of the conflict. With Hamas as well as the Palestinian Authority and Israel going to Cairo for negotiations, there may be some indication as to whether Tel Aviv and Washington will accept a settlement that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza or whether they try to isolate the organisation.

Meanwhile, on the military front, we may get some indication --- given the reports of Israeli moblisation around Rafah and warnings to residents --- of whether Tel Aviv is going to take the ground offensive into the cities.

11:30 p.m. Gazan medical sources say 700 Gazans killed in conflict, 219 are children and 89 are women. More than 3000 wounded: 46 percent are women and children.

11:25 p.m. Jabaliya Doubled: The Daily Telegraph of London is reporting the discovery in Zeitoun by a paramedic of between 60 and 70 bodies of the al Samouni clan (initial reports had put the death toll at 13), killed by Israeli shelling.



About 15 members of the clan were injured. Eight were left behind when Israeli troops began firing on ambulances.

So far, Israel has made no claim that there was Hamas members firing mortars from the shelled house.

10:50 p.m. A summary of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's speech on the Gaza situation --- "The Scheme is to Give West Bank to Jordan, Gaza to Egypt" --- is now posted in English on the Internet.

10:45 p.m. Took a break to post on today's How Not to Spin Information story: the Israeli consulate in New York, trying to prove Hamas was responsible for breaking the cease-fire, actually makes the case that the Gazan organisation was observing it.

8:45 p.m. Apologies --- missed this earlier. Israeli Cabinet postpones votes on expansion of ground offensive

8:40 p.m. Arab fightback? Representatives of Arab League at United Nations reject US-backed initiative for non-binding statement by President of Security Council and urge binding Security Council resolution for immediate cease-fire. Al Jazeera speculates this is because of growing "embarrassment" over Arab passivity in face of Mubarak-Sarkozy process.

8:30 p.m. Israeli military preparing for entry into Rafah in southern Gaza? Reports of leaflets being dropped on residents warning them to evacuate by 8 a.m. Gaza time

8 p.m. On CNN, French Foreign Ministry spokesman tries to reconcile different stories: Israel has welcomed "process" and "approach" of Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal. Tel Aviv is sending senior advisor to Minister of Defense Ehud Barak to Cairo tomorrow.

Spokesman adds that discussions are taking place with Hamas via Egypt and Syria. On the Palestinian Authority-Hamas issue, he talks of "Palestinian reconciliation".

6:15 p.m. Retractions: French President Sarkozy's office acknowledges that Israel has not accepted the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal while Israeli military says three-hour "respite" --- to take place every other day ---does apply to all of Gaza, not just Gaza City

5:25 p.m. Important development: Ahmed Youssef, political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, tells Al Jazeera there are "good elements" in Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal and hopes for clarification of provisions in next 48 hours. Youssef adds that he hopes negotiation of Mubarak-Sarkozy will be in conjunction with movement in United Nations towards a resolution.

Youssef says the "by-product" of rockets will end when the Israeli occupation is terminated, indicating Hamas will not accept a cease-fire which does not mention Tel Aviv's aggression: "As long as the occupation is there, we have to defend ourselves....When we have full control of our destiny....there will be no firing of rockets."

5:20 p.m. Thomas Friedman carries the media flag for Israel. His latest column in The New York Times, "The Mideast's Ground Zero", is being distributed via Twitter by the Israeli Consulate in New York. And no wonder, six years after Friedman marched into war with Iraq, he's still got an Axis of Evil to grind:

No doubt, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are hoping that they can use the Gaza conflict to turn Obama into Bush. They know Barack Hussein Obama must be (am)Bushed — to keep America and its Arab allies on the defensive. Obama has to keep his eye on the prize. His goal — America’s goal — has to be a settlement in Gaza that eliminates the threat of Hamas rockets and opens Gaza economically to the world, under credible international supervision.

5:15 p.m. Confusion over the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal and possible embarrassment for the French President. France had announced Israel's acceptance of the limited cease-fire, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says that proposal is still being studied.

5 p.m. Two hours into the three-hour respite but Al Jazeera says there are reports of fresh fighting in Gaza City. Seven Israeli airstrikes, mainly in northeast Gaza.

The respite has allowed paramedics to get to some areas of Gaza for first time.

4:20 p.m. Israel "clarifies" the three-hour respite: says it applies only to Gaza City

3:45 p.m. A break from Gaza coverage to more important issues: CNN International is running an in-depth investigation of Oprah Winfrey's weight

3:20 p.m. Osama Hamdan of Hamas says organisation is considering Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal along with "other initiatives",  maintains cautious line --- "If we criticise Egypt, it does not mean we cannot discuss with Egypt"

3:12 p.m. Hamas officials say they are considering the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal.

3:10 p.m. French officials say both Israel and Palestinian Authority have accepted the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal for a limited cease-fire and talks in Cairo.

3:05 p.m. Respite, after firing from both sides in opening minutes, reported to be "generally holding". At least 683 Gazans killed since start of conflict.

2:20 p.m. Report of "tens of thousands" of mourners at funerals of the victims of Jabaliya school/shelter bombing.

UN officials "99.9 percent certain" that there were no militants in the shelter.

2:00 p.m. An  hour after the "respite" began, shelling resumes north of Gaza City, although more civilians are on the streets in the centre of the city. Machine gun fire near Beit Lahoun.

1:35 p.m. Israeli Defense Forces say they have suspended operations for three hours. Hamas says it will match this by suspending firing of rockets.

1:10 p.m. Israeli airstrikes kill four people outside a  mosque in Gaza City and two people in the Zeitoun district. Explosions reported in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya.



12:55 p.m. London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi reports that officers of US Army Engineering Corps have been stationed at Rafah to unearth smugglers' tunnels --- unclear whether they are now on Egyptian or Gazan side or border

12:45 p.m. Israel seizes the media initiative, at least with CNN: its headline story is of Tel Aviv's offer of a "short respite" with the three-hour pause in bombing each day, while the Jabiliya deaths are at the foot of the story (and noted with "The Israeli military said Hamas militants were firing mortars from the school").

11:55 a.m. No humanitarian bombing pause yet: Al Jazeera reports heavy Israeli bombing around city of Rafah on Egypt-Gaza border.

11:34 a.m. Dan Gillerman, the former Israeli Ambassador to the UN and the coordinator of Israel's information operations, tells Al Jazeera that the deaths in the Jabaliya bombing are "horrible tragedy" but whereas each death is "a cause for sadness" for Israel, each is "a cause for celebration" for Hamas.

Gillerman refuses to address the question of whether Israel violated international law with the shelling of the school/shelter. John Ging, United Nations Relief and Works Agency official, repeats that the GPS coordinates of the school/shelter were given to Israeli forces, and calls for a "full investigation".

11:10 a.m. Israeli Cabinet currently discussing military operations, including possible expansion of ground offensive with mobilisation of tens of thousands of reservists. Israeli forces reported to be in "holding pattern" around Gazan cities.

11 a.m. Israel announces, for the "humanitarian corridor", that it will halt military attacks for three hours each day. Al Jazeera reports Gazan reaction: "What about the other 21 hours a day?"

10:20 a.m. I have known and learned for 20 years from Professor Avi Shlaim, one of Britain's foremost historians on the Middle East. In today's Guardian of London, he has an opinion piece, "How Israel Brought Gaza to the Brink of Humanitarian Catastrophe", offering the historical context to the current crisis:

This brief review of Israel's record over the past four decades makes it difficult to resist the conclusion that it has become a rogue state with "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders". A rogue state habitually violates international law, possesses weapons of mass destruction and practises terrorism - the use of violence against civilians for political purposes. Israel fulfils all of these three criteria; the cap fits and it must wear it. Israel's real aim is not peaceful coexistence with its Palestinian neighbours but military domination.

9:40 a.m. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator has released a situation report, current to 6 p.m. on 6 January, detailing casualties and damages from Israeli bombing and shelling. It also sets out the status of medical services and shelter and the provision of food, fuel, water, and electricity.

9:15 a.m. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the deputy chief of Al Qa'eda, issued a statement calling the Gaza conflict a "gift" from President-elect Barack Obama with "that traitor" Hosni Mubarak as the main partner.

Frankly, I consider this a sign of the relative weakness and peripheral place of Al Qa'eda, except to a small group of core activists, not only in Gaza but in international affairs. Far more important, as Juan Cole has noted, is the impact upon local "insurgents" in places such as Afghanistan, as they use the wider policies of countries like the US to mobilise their supporters.

9:05 a.m. Other success of Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal is pushing the specific incident of the shelling of Jabaliya school/shelter, which killed at least 43 and wounded at least 100 Gazans, and the general humanitarian issue to the background. Al Jazeera is leading with the Jabiliya killings but other news services have put it in the background.

The Israeli proposal for a "humanitarian corridor" appears to be a public-relations success, at least for the moment. And, contrary to my opinion yesterday, it seems that Jabaliya will not be the successor to Qana (Lebanon) 2006, when dozens of civilian deaths in a single incident helped force an end to military operations.

Jabaliya was one of three schools/shelters struck yesterday. More than 660 Gazans have now died.

9 a.m. Lead development is the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal for immediate cease-fire and meetings in Cairo between Israel and Palestinian "factions"

There is still lack of clarity on proposals such as arrangements for border security and when and to what extent blockade would be lifted. Perhaps most important, no confirmation on whether Hamas would be invited to negotiations. In fact, there is not even agreement on the cease-fire. United States is still holding out against any cessation of military operations.

However, immediate "success" of the proposal is to block any UN resolution on the crisis. Initiative is now clearly with France, Egypt as the Arab "leader", and --- behind them --- the US and European countries. If Israel and the Palestinian Authority play their parts,, then this could be an ambitious move for a "grand design" on Gaza. This would include isolating and possibly overthrowing Hamas.

Rolling Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (6 January --- Evening)

Later Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)
Earlier Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (6 January)

2:20 a.m. That's it for a while. Thanks to all who checked in with us on a turbulent day. I hesitate to think about tomorrow....

2:15 a.m. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner is pushing the "Mubarak plan" for "immediate cease-fire for a limited period" for humanitarian aid deliveries and Egyptian invitation to Israel and "Palestinian factions/authorities" to talks on border security and blockade.

But....Kouchner sidesteps questions of whether Europeans will deal with Hamas by repeating this is an "Egyptian proposal". Yeah, right --- that's why Nicolas Sarkozy was hopping from Jerusalem to Ramallah to Damascus to Cairo before the proposal appear.

And...Kouchner makes clear that this proposal is not alongside UN Security Council resolution but instead of one. Arab journalists (and I suspect a lot of Arab people outside Governments) are not impressed.

2 a.m. Media reporting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's "impassioned plea" to the UN Security Council for "an urgent intervention by the Security Council to...deter the aggressor". Hmm.... Forgive my scepticism, but in light of today's manoeuvres, some cease-fires are more equal than others: what are the political objectives of this one?

Meanwhile, Israel is scrambling to regard publicity advantage (or at least a shred of respectability) by opening a "humanitarian corridor". Israeli spokespersons are still insisting that the Jabaliya school/shelter struck by Israeli tank fire, killing 40 Gazans, was being used by Hamas militants as a base for operations.

1:30 a.m. CNN missed the significance in Rice's statement --- totally missed it. Their UN correspondent, Richard Roth, is wittering on without any reference to the Secretary of State's call for restoration of Palestinian Authority in Gaza.

1:22 a.m. RICE CALLS FOR LEGAL COUP IN GAZA


Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice begins speech at UN Security Council. She's very much on-message: basic problem is "ongoing attacks against Israel" (which followed Hamas' "illegal coup" in Gaza), so have to have "sustainable and durable" cease-fire for "true calm" and not "return to status quo ante".

Rice does throw in the concession of opening border crossings on lines of 2005 agreement, but the basics of this are control of tunnels and cut-off of arms into Gaza.

Then the killer phrase: this is to restore Palestinian Authority's "legitimate control" of Gaza.

Got it? Rice has in fact inverted history and current events: she has turned Hamas' electoral victory in Gaza in 2006 into an "illegal coup" to justify a "legal coup" by Fatah/Palestinian Authority, under cover of Israeli military operations, in January 2009.



1:10 a.m. UN Security Council meeting on possible resolution ongoing.

Al-Jazeera correspondent notes that it is serving  the interests of a number of UNSC meetings to delay acting: "It seems there is a lot of dragging of feet....Some people are wondering if there is Arab complicity here" in not pressing for immediate cease-fire

11:50 p.m. Here we go: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, following his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed "an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, to be followed by talks on long-term arrangements including an end to the blockade of Gaza".

This is only a first, tentative step. There is nothing in the proposal about security arrangements to monitor borders and the import of arms and no statement on the role Hamas would play in negotiations.

The next move will come from Tel Aviv: Sarkozy said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "will react soon" to the Mubarak proposal. This will probably include Israeli acceptance of talks with Egypt on border security.

11:09 p.m. French President Nicolas Sarkozy reads out Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's role in the diplomatic play: Cairo invites Israel "without delay" to discuss Egypt-Gaza border security

11:05 p.m. Al Jazeera: Danish  Foreign Ministry has summoned the Israeli Ambassador to explain the bombing of three mobile clinics run by a Danish charity in Gaza

10:55 p.m. Forgive me for abandoning objectivity but Israeli authorities best produce some proof of their charges of Hamas using the Jabaliya UN school/shelter as a base for military operations. If they don't, their lying to cover up responsibility for civilian deaths --- which has happened in the past --- should be held up as an abandonment of their supposed "moral clarity".

The statement from the Israeli Consulate in New York:

These initial investigations indicate that Hamas used the UNRWA school to fire at IDF forces, indicating once again that Hamas is more than willing to sacrifice Gaza citizens to promote terrorism. International law recognizes that the presence of civilians in an area of conflict does not delegitimize a military target. Israel and the IDF will continue to abide by these laws and to make every effort to avoid harming civilians in conducting further operations. We urge the international community to strongly condemn Hamas’s cynical exploitation of its citizens and firing of rockets, which remain the most effective way to ensure peace for Gazans and Israelis alike.

9:50 p.m. Obama to Gazan population --- Can you wait another two weeks?

After Jan. 20 I'm going to have plenty to say about the issue.

9: 40 p.m. Israeli Defense Forces statement on shelling of Jabaliya school:

A number of mortar shells were fired at IDF forces from within the Jabalya school. In response to the incoming enemy fire, the forces returned mortar fire to the source. This is not the first time that Hamas has fired mortars and rockets from schools, in such a way deliberately using civilians as human shields in their acts of terror against Israel.

Flashback to the Israeli bombing of Qana in July 2006:

One Israeli military official raised the possibility that the building collapsed hours after the strike and that munitions had been stored in it.

9:35 p.m. Washington and European leaders are synchronising their statements: in last few hours: White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, German chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have all called for a cease-fire based on closure of tunnels and cut-off of supply of arms to Hamas. The possible concession to Hamas is an arrangement for opening of border crossings.

9:10 p.m. A Gazan to an Israeli friend, quoted in Ha'aretz:

They're bombing us from the sea and from the east, they're bombing us from the air. When the telephone works, people tell us about relatives or friends who were killed. My wife cries all the time. At night she hugs the children and cries. It's cold and the windows are open; there's fire and smoke in open areas; at home there's no water, no electricity, no heating gas. And you [the Israelis] say there's no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Tell me, are you normal?

8:55 p.m. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino on the Jabaliya school bombing: "We should not jump to conclusions on who is responsible."

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds: "The world's superpower is playing dumb on this."

8:40 p.m. 34 rockets fired into southern Israel today.

8:30 p.m. Excellent Timing Award. An Israeli blogging collective is circulating the quote from Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974:

We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.

8:25 p.m. Al Jazeera is showing a guided tour of Al Shi'fa hospital by Dr Erik Fosse, one of the two Norwegian physicians who has brought the medical crisis to international prominence

8:10 p.m. Obama speaks! Says he is "deeply concerned" about the civilian casualties in Gaza....

8 p.m. Qana 2006 --- Jabiliya 2009?

Arguably it was the Israeli bombing of Qana and the killing of 28 civilians, or more specifically the international reaction to the horror of the incident,  that forced Tel Aviv to call a halt to its military operations 2 1/2 years ago. The building  response to the incident this afternoon, in which 40 Gazans died at a UN shelter/school, could be the symbolic ringing of time on Israel's current military mission. Every news organisation is headlining the bombing, and BBC Radio has just spent several hard-hitting minutes on the incident.

5:50 p.m. Nicolas Sarkozy to reporters in Lebanon, before heading to Egypt:

I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from that. What is needed is simply for one of the players to start for things to go in the right direction.

5:25 p.m. More evidence that we're on the mark about a "grand design" for regime change, removing Hamas and bringing in the Palestinian Authority?

The Israeli Consulate has just distributed (and endorsed?) today's column by Bret Stephens in The Wall Street Journal:

Israel also has much to gain by avoiding a frontal assault on Gaza's urban areas in favor of the snatch-and-grab operations that have effectively suppressed Hamas's terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. A long-term policy aimed squarely at killing or capturing Hamas's leaders, destroying arms caches and rocket factories, and cutting off supply and escape routes will not by itself destroy the group. But it can drive it out of government and cripple its ability to function as a fighting force. And this, in turn, could mean the return of Fatah, the closest thing Gaza has to a "legitimate" government.

5:15 p.m. CNN reports UN protest of Israeli attack on UN-run school/shelter but has not updated death toll.

Rolling Updates on the Invasion of Gaza (6 January)

Later Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)
Later post: International Crisis Group on "Ending the War in Gaza"
Later post: The Israel-Fatah Collaboration

5:15 p.m. Medical sources say up to 40 Gazans die from Israeli tank shelling of UN school in Jabaliya refugee camp.

4:25 p.m. US State Department says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice going to United Nations "to help create a ceasefire" in Gaza



4:20 p.m. Further to the news of 13 members of a family dying in an Israeli air attack (3:45 p.m.), The New York Times has a detailed profile:

The Samouni family knew they were in danger. They had been calling the Red Cross for two days, they said, begging to be taken out of Zeitoun, a poor area in eastern Gaza City that is considered a stronghold of Hamas.

No rescuers came. Instead, Israeli soldiers entered their building late Sunday night and told them to evacuate to another building. They did. But at 6 a.m. on Monday, when a missile fired by an Israeli warplane struck the relatives’ house in which they had taken shelter, there was nowhere to run.

4:05 p.m. Diplomatic development: French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Damascus has urged Syrian President Bashir al-Assad "to throw all his weight to convince everyone to return to reason". Sarkozy said any ceasefire had to provide "serious guarantees" for the security of Israel and a halt of rocket fire by Hamas.

No rescuers came. Instead, Israeli soldiers entered their building late Sunday night and told them to evacuate to another building. They did. But at 6 a.m. on Monday, when a missile fired by an Israeli warplane struck the relatives’ house in which they had taken shelter, there was nowhere to run.

It seems, however, that Assad has rebuffed Sarkozy's gambit --- which parallels Tony Blair's media blitz today --- to put all the conditions for a cease-fire on Hamas. He responded that Israel had to agree to ease economic restrictions on Gaza: "The blockade is slow death. There will not be a ceasefire that holds if the blockade is not lifted." Assad also called for a cessation of Israeli "war crimes".

Immediate analysis? No breakthrough here --- this is increasingly looking like two rival diplomatic camps.

3:45 p.m. Al Jazeera reports 13 members of a single family killed in al Zaitoun, east of Gaza City, in air attack

3:35 p.m.  Further evidence of the "grand design", backed by US, Israel, and Egypt, of military and political action to topple Hamas and bring in the Palestinian Authority? The BBC's Jeremy Bowen has just assessed that European representatives will sit on their hands for now over a possible cease-fire. It's also notable that the French, who only 24 hours were supposed to be pushing a UN resolution, have gone very quiet.

Bowen adds the question, in line with our own post, of who will be able to succeed Hamas. Will it be anarchy and a Somalia-type situation?

2:55 p.m. Just posted what I think may be the critical background story of this week --- Israel-Fatah Collaboration in plan to install Palestinian Authority in power in Gaza

2 p.m. Former British Prime Minister and the envoy of the Middle Eastern Quarter, Tony Blair, confirms his clinging to relevancy with an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. He lays out the condition for a cease-fire:

If...Israel feels it has achieved something -- namely the end of the smuggling of weapons and finance to Hamas -- then I think it is possible to resolve this reasonably quickly.

In other words, before any cease-fire is possible, Hamas has to make concessions. In far, it's more than that: countries accused of smuggling weapons and finance to Hamas, namely Iran and Syria, have to give assurances.

The proposal is a non-starter. And I doubt that Blair --- who met with Israel's Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak on Sunday --- has any credibility left as an "impartial" broker of a temporary, let alone long-term, settlement.



1 p.m. Israeli officer reported killed in fighting in northern Gaza.

12:40 p.m. United Nations Relief and Works Agency official John Ging confirms that three people killed in UN school/shelter by Israeli missile. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ging also describes "awful" situation at al-Shifa hospital.

12:05 p.m. Missing news: meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: ""The results of the operation must be... that Hamas must not only stop firing but must no longer be able to fire."

But, given earlier French efforts to get a cease-fire and reported French attempts to get a UN resolution, what was Sarkozy's position/reaction? There is no evidence in the story by Agence France Presse, only the note that Olmert and he agreed that Sarkovy "would continue to push for a deal including Egypt".

12 noon: Israeli Defense Forces say more than 10 Hamas rockets have been launched on Tuesday. One landed in Gadera, 36 kilometres (23 miles) north of the Gaza border --- the further a rocket has flown into Israel.

11:55 a.m. Al Jazeera is reporting heavy Israeli air attacks, including strikes on a school (and now probably a shelter) run by the United Nations, killing at least three people, and a central market in Bureij, south of Gaza City. Israeli Defense Forces say there have been more than 40 airstrikes since midnight.

There are also reports of Israel violating Lebanese airspace.

10:25 a.m. Heavy fighting in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and resistance to Israeli naval landing at Deir al-Balah.

10:20 a.m. Former British Prime Minister and current "Middle Eastern envoy" Tony Blair clings to relevance with 10-minute interview on BBC radio's Today programme. He frames situation as "good" Palestinian Authority v. "bad" Hamas and holds out against dialogue with the latter.

10 a.m. One day it might be called the "el-Haddad effect", and it might be seen as a major reason why the Israelis halt military operations before they achieve their objectives.

Moussa el-Haddad, the Gazan resident who came to international notice via his daughter Laila, a writer and blogger prominent on Twitter as "Gazamom", is now being featured regularly on CNN. He is also now the lead voice on the BBC's flagship radio programme Today. His eyewitness emphasis is on the destruction and humanitarian cost of the Israeli attack, overtaking the standard wartime narrative of Israeli forces v. Hamas forces.

Ironically, as Robert Fisk noted in The Independent yesterday, the Israeli exclusion of journalists from Gaza means that news services are scrambling to find an "authentic" account of events.  That in turn means they have moved to other means, such as Internet-based activity, for information and analysis. (The Guardian of London, which featured bloggers during the 2003 Iraq War, got a jump on other print outlets with its featuring of "local" stories, and broadcast media are now playing catch-up.)

As long as Moussa el-Haddad's phone and Internet service holds out, he may be an influence putting Israeli political and military forces may be in a race against time.

9:27 a.m. CNN is now summarising the Israeli and Hamas casualties we reported below.

There is an intriguing twist in the article, however:

Israel also stepped up its psychological campaign Monday, trying to turn Gazans against Hamas.

"Urgent message, warning to the citizens of Gaza," said a recorded phone call to Gaza resident Moussa El-Hadad. "Hamas is using you as human shields. Do not listen to them. Hamas has abandoned you and are hiding in their shelters."

The Israeli military also dropped leaflets into the streets of Gaza warning residents that the IDF will continue using "full force against Hamas."

The summary of a "psychological campaign", while not as strong as "political warfare", is a far different characterisation of the Israeli tactics than the earlier portrayal --- encouraged by Tel Aviv --- of the phone calls as concern for the civilian population.

9:10 a.m. The humanitarian-first approach to the conflict makes it to the top level of "mainstream" US news coverage. Mads Gilbert, one of the two Norwegian doctors setting out the scale of crisis at Gazan hospitals and the large number of civilian casualties, is given almost three minutes on CBS. His portrayal of events? "They are bombing one-and-a-half million people in a cage."

The clip is now circulating on YouTube.

9:00 a.m. Al Jazeera reports 18 Gazans killed overnight.

8:50 a.m. The International Crisis Group has released a briefing, "Ending the War in Gaza". We're reprinting in full as a separate item. The ICG concludes:

Sustainable calm can be achieved neither by ignoring Hamas and its constituents nor by harbouring the illusion that, pummelled into submission, it will accept what it heretofore has rejected. Palestinian reconciliation is a priority, more urgent but also harder than ever before; so, too, is the Islamists’ acceptance of basic international obligations. In the meantime, Hamas – if Israel does not take the perilous step of toppling it – will have to play a political and security role in Gaza and at the crossings. This might mean a “victory” for Hamas, but that is the inevitable cost for a wrongheaded embargo, and by helping end rocket fire and producing a more stable border regime, it would just as importantly be a victory for Israel – and, crucially, both peoples – as well.

8:35 a.m. Israeli Defense Forces claim 135 Hamas fighters killed.

8:20 a.m. In another sign of shifting media emphasis towards humanitarian issues, CNN website leads with story on psychological damage caused to Gazan children by the conflict, albeit with an emphasis on the creation of "extremists". (This was superseded an hour later by latest reports on military clashes.)

8:15 a.m. Israeli troops have surrounded Gaza City. Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces have moved into Khan Yunis in southern Gazan strip

Three Israeli soldiers were killed and 24 wounded --- four severely --- in a "friendly fire" incident. Another eight soldiers were lightly wounded in fights with Hamas forces.

Forty rockets were launched into southern Israel on Monday, slightly down from 47 on Sunday.

Treatment of wounded in hospitals has been further hindered by Egyptian refusal to let medical personnel across its border into Gaza.

Rolling Updates on Israeli Invasion of Gaza (5 January)

Later Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)

2:55 a.m. Downtime until the morning. Thanks for all your support and comments today.

2:30 a.m. The lull continues but, as former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman denies on Al Jazeera that a "National Information Directorate" exists (which is a bold move, given that the NID was "outed" in The Observer of London on Sunday), signs that Israel's information campaign may not be able to hold open the window for military operations very long.

CNN International is not only leading with footage of the hospitals crisis in Gaza but pointedly noted they obtained this footage despite an Israeli-imposed ban on journalists inside the territory.

Israel tried to counter this by playing up their permission for 80 truckloads of aid (just over 1/10 the pre-conflict amount) into southern Gaza on Monday. On this evidence, this won't be enough to hold back mounting criticism.

1:25 a.m. Developments on the diplomatic front: Arab Foreign Ministers have met in New York but it is already clear that a Libyan-sponsored resolution, blocked by the US last weekend, is "dead". Instead, talk is of a French-drafted resolution, which Paris is hoping will be supported by Arab representatives. United Nations sources say this will include calls for an immediate ceasefire, a "humanitarian corridor" for aid, and a "monitoring mechanism". With the manoeuvring needed for any hope of passage, the resolution will not be brought up for a vote on Tuesday.

The Gazan death toll is now at least 548. UN officials in Gaza continue to emphasise that this is "a humanitarian crisis".


11:30 p.m. A bit of a lull in developments on military and diplomatic fronts. Al Jazeera reports that the fighting around Gaza City seems for an elevated area just outside the city which provides a vantage point across northern Gaza.

9:30 p.m. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin on the current Israeli bombardment: "Almost every building in Israel's definition is a Hamas building."



9:05 p.m. Al Jazeera reports that Israeli forces trying to take strategic overlook looking down on Jabaliya refugee camp, the largest in Gaza.

8:55 p.m. Israeli bloggers claim that the English website of Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has been hacked by Israel. Both English and Arabic sites of Al Qassam are currently offline.

8:50 p.m. CNN is way behind the story. As fighting intensifies around and possibly in Gaza City, this is their website lead: "Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel on Monday despite a 10-day Israeli military campaign that reportedly has left more than 500 Palestinians dead."

8:45 p.m. Arab foreign ministers, who have mostly sat on their hands during this crisis, finally decide they have to make some pretence at action. Palestine Authority, Libyan, Moroccan, and Jordanian ministers are en route to New York.

8:20 p.m. The explosions we noted an hour ago seem to be the "softening-up" artillery shelling for an Israeli advance on Gaza City. The armed wing of Islamic Jihad has told Al Jazeera that Israeli tanks are trying to move into the city, and Israeli sources have confirmed that a "major battle" is taking place on the northern outskirts.

7:20 p.m. Affidavit of "Maher Najjar, Deputy Director, Coastal Municipalities Water Utility" now on-line:

As of last night, there is no electricity at all in Gaza City....Two of the lines feeding electricity to Rafah, one from Israel and one from Egypt, have been damaged.... I have no additional diesel reserves, and I cannot obtain additional diesel right now. The water wells and sewage pumping stations that still have diesel will run out within a few days, others have none.

7:15 p.m. As Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin gives live report from Gaza City, massive explosion on-screen behind him. Moyheldin: "There's nowhere for the residents of that area to go....You're seeing a very modern army unleashing weapons on a defenceless population."

7:10 p.m. Most inept disinformation campaign: "Al Jazera" on Twitter --- Sample update: "The leaders of Hamas say 'we will hide as long as needed, our women and children will suffer for us'"

7:05 p.m. Al Jazeera correspondents reporting fireballs and "white explosions" in northern Gaza.

6:30 p.m. Following story in The Times of London that Israel used white phosphorous bombs to cover its ground invasion, Moussa el-Haddad, Gaza resident and father of blogger Laila el-Haddad ("Gazamom"), reports "series of bombs in a row, followed by a large white halo, white smoke; people in vicinity cannot breathe...irritation, and exposed areas [of body] become red, blistered, and itchy".

6 p.m. Hamas spokesman Moussa Abu Marzouk in Damascus to Reuters: Hamas is open to truce in Gaza but only if Israel lifts its blockade:

Any initiative not based on ending the aggression, opening the border crossings and an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has no chance of succeeding.

5:55 p.m. Al-Jazeera reports that the first week of the Gaza offensive has resulted in estimated losses of $1.5 billion.

5 p.m. The statement of Hamas military spokesman Abu Ubeida is now summarised on-line: claims of one Israeli helicopter downed, one tank and one personnel carrier destroyed, one POW taken

4:55 p.m. Al Jazeera reports Al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza hit by two artillery shells

4:35 p.m. The Guardian of London is reporting "gun battles in the streets of Gaza City for the first time this morning"  with Israeli troops going house-to-house looking for Hamas fighters

4:20 p.m. Fares Akram, the Gaza correspondent for The Independent of London, writes about his father, killed by an Israeli bomb in northern Gaza on Saturday:

My father, Akrem al-Ghoul, was no militant. Born in Gaza and educated in Egypt, he was a lawyer and a judge who worked for the Palestinian Authority. After Hamas took over, he quit and turned to agriculture....

As a grieving son, I am finding it hard to distinguish between what the Israelis call terrorists and the Israeli pilots and tank crews who are invading Gaza. What is the difference between the pilot who blew my father to pieces and the militant who fires a small rocket? I have no answers but, just as I am to become a father, I have lost my father.

4:15 p.m. Al Jazeera: 70 percent of Gazans without clean drinking water, food distribution suspended in northern Gaza

Hassan Khalaf, director of Al Shifa hospital: "What is happening is genocide."

3:55 p.m. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida says on Al Aqsa Television said on Monday that the group has "thousands" of fighters and will welcome Israel into Gaza "with fire and iron"

3:03 p.m. Al Jazeera reports eyewitness accounts of Israeli troops demolishing some houses and taking up positions on rooftops of others.

2:42 p.m. Now Livni sets out the rest of her strategy, pointing to restoration of Fatah/Palestinian Authority in Gaza --- Agreement on border crossings (and thus passage of aid) was in 2005 with EU and "legitimate" Palestinian Authority --- Hamas is "illegitimate"

Head of EU delegation: EU "insists on cease-fire at earliest possible moment", not after Israeli military operations --- We have difference in view from Israel on this: "This has to be clearly set."

2:34 p.m. If Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni sets out same line in private that she has just set out in public, there is no hope of any Israeli movement toward cease-fire --- Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin: "Everybody here knows that European Union is peripheral....Israel is satellite of United States"

Livni lays out the political strategy of "moderates" with Israel against "extremists": "Everybody in this region needs to choose where he belongs" --- Hamas is connected with Iran, Damascus, and Hezbollah

2:25 p.m. Press conference of EU delegation and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has just started --- Livni: "Situation is that we face terror....Now we need to against terror, against Hamas."

2:22 p.m. Intriguing diplomatic manoeuvre: Speaker of Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani travelling to Damascus to meet Syrian President Bashir al-Assad and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.

2:20 p.m. YNet News reports 24 rockets fired at southern Israel with several people lightly wounded.

2:15 p.m. Al Jazeera is focusing on humanitarian crisis and now the increasing number of child fatalities:

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_gEBO-6VRjs[/youtube]



12:35 p.m United Nations Relief and Works Agency representative tells CNN that 250,000 Gazans have no access to clean water. It is a "rapidly deteriorating situation".

Fuel terminal is due to reopen today. Israel says it is sending in 80 trucks today (compared to 750/day during the truce period).

12:30 p.m. Oxfam tell BBC that they cannot bring food into Gaza because of the security risk.

11:40 a.m. In case you missed it, this report from Israel's Ha'aretz:

The ground invasion was preceded by large-scale artillery shelling from around 4 P.M....Hundreds of shells were fired, including cluster bombs aimed at open areas.

11:05 a.m. The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator has issued an updated report, through 5 p.m yesterday, on the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza:

It is essential that patients and ambulances are able to reach hospitals, that agencies are able to access warehouses in order to conduct distributions. Currently movement within the Strip is severely challenged.

10:50 a.m. Yesterday we noted one of few examples of "Palestinian viewpoint" on CNN, the interview with Gazan resident Moussa el-Haddad and his daughter Laila in North Carolina. Interview has just been repeated on CNN International.

Laila el-Haddad is posting on events in Gaza via Twitter.

10:40 a.m. Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz calls for move from military operations to diplomacy:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Jerusalem today provides Israel with an exit ramp from the fighting against Hamas in Gaza. Sarkozy proposes declaring a lull in combat, which would test whether Hamas would agree to halt firing rockets. Israel would do well to respond affirmatively to the proposal, which protects its right to respond with force in the event the Palestinians continue firing from the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Wall Street Journal puts out Israeli public-relations line:

In the clearest break from a strategy it used to pursue Hezbollah militants in Lebanon in 2006, Israeli leaders have set out clearly defined -- and relatively modest -- expectations for the current Gaza offensive.

10:20 a.m. A day of activity on the diplomatic front, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a Hamas delegation in Cairo and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in New York. A European Union delegation is arriving in Egypt before continuing to Israel and possibly Palestinian territories.

On Sunday, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday, and Russian envoy Alexander Saltonov met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Neither discussion produced any breakthroughs --- Livni pointedly rejected Saltanov's offer of communication with Hamas via Russia:

We are serious in our intention to harm Hamas and we have no intention to give them legitimize them and pass messages on to them. We have nothing to discuss with Hamas.

10:15 a.m. Israel/Palestine time: Israel has continued its aerial and artillery bombardment in support of its ground offensive, hitting 30 Hamas targets as well as a mosque which the Israeli Defense Forces claimed was storing weapons.

The Gazan death toll is now 521. At least 12 more civilians, including seven members of a family, have been killed in strikes on refugee camps and homes.

The IDF says 30 rockets were fired into southern Israel on Sunday. The number, while less than the number launched at the start of the 10-day conflict, is an increase from the the 20 fired on Saturday.

Most Gazans are confined to homes without electricity and with shortages of food and water.

Gaza: Rolling Updates on the Israeli Invasion (4 January)

Later Updates on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (7 January)
Later Story: "Escape from Hamas", Become a Christian
Later Story: US State Department Twitter-Diplomacy in Action
Later Story: Was the Israeli Attack Planned in June?


3:02 a.m. OK, that's it for awhile. Thanks to all for supporting the blog and sending in items. Back in the morning.

3 a.m. Reuters reports Hamas to send delegation to Egypt on Monday at invitation of Egyptians. This will coincide with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Cairo.

2:15 a.m. All those associated with the Israeli information campaign take note:

While CNN television is generally helping Israel hold its publicity line as it moves further into Gaza, CNN's website is confronting it. It is now leading with the story, based on the interview almost 12 hours ago with Norwegian doctor Erik Fosse, of patients "lying everywhere" in an Al-Shifa hospital lacking medicine and equipment. The website is also highlighting Fosse's remark that "about 30 percent of the casualties at Shifa Hospital on Sunday were children, both among the dead and the wounded". (The Palestinian death toll of 507 is now the #2 story on the website.)



So the comments of one brave, overworked doctor re-work, at least a bit, the "information war". Intriguing to see if this cyber-development, reinforced by the details coming in via Twitter, poses political problems for Israel tomorrow.

1:30 a.m. The general media line is "Israel forces push deeper into Gaza" but, without correspondents in Gaza (except for Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin), they can offer nothing further. So instead CNN features the blathering expert "retired General David Grange" to explain, for example, "that Israel is cognizant of avoiding civilian casulaties" and to dismiss the notion of proportional response: "Operations will continue until the threat is removed. Regretably, civilians will get hurt in that operation."

12:45 a.m. After serving as a channel for Israel, CNN finally shifts because of a human interest story, connecting a Gaza resident (Moussa el-Haddad) with his daughter Laila, a blogger in North Carolina. The father gives a first-hand account of the Israeli attacks and psychological warfare and the daughter stresses getting "the message out" about the destruction.

Jim Clancy makes sure that Moussa el-Haddad is an OK guy, asking, "Do you support a political faction? Do you support Hamas?" He does not, which means he can proceed with his description of the Israeli assault.

12:10 a.m. Al Jazeera says six paramedics and a doctor killed by Israeli artillery shells

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking with Lebanese newspapers, condemns Israeli offensive but also "the heavy responsibility" of Hamas

11:45 p.m. Text message from Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert working at Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital:

Thanks for your support.. They bombed the central vegetable market in Gaza city two hours ago. 80 injured, 20 killed, it all came here to Shifa. Hades! We wade in death. Blood and amputees. Many children. Pregnant woman. I have never experienced anything so terrible. Now we hear tanks. Tell it, pass it on, shout it. Anything. DO SOMETHING! DO MORE! We're living in the history books now, all of us! Mads G, 3.1.09 13:50, Gaza, Palestine.

11:35 p.m. Reports that UN officials saying 13,000 Gazans displaced by attacks. At least 20 percent of 507 Gazan deaths are women and children.

10:20 p.m. Israeli Air Force is using new bunker-busting bombs provided by US. According to The Jerusalem Post:

The missile, called GBU-39, was developed in recent years by the US as a small-diameter bomb for low-cost, high-precision and low collateral damage strikes.

Israel received approval from Congress to purchase 1,000 units in September and defense officials said on Sunday that the first shipment had arrived earlier this month and was used successfully in penetrating underground Kassam launchers in the Gaza Strip during the heavy aerial bombardment of Hamas infrastructure on Saturday. It was also used in Sunday's bombing of tunnels in Rafah.

(hat tip to Canuckistan)

9:40 p.m. Come back and CNN is still serving as mouthpiece for the Israeli military/political propaganda line. When I left, Michael Oren --- who is now 53 years old --- admitted he had been re-enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces "to speak to the Western media". Now the pulpit has been taken by Adam Harmon, a US citizen who has fought in the IDF.

Here's the second-phrase propaganda strategy to accompany the second-phase ground operations:

1. Israel does not intend to re-occupy Gaza; it is just dealing with the Hamas threat.
2. Israel has learned its lessons from the Lebanon debacle in 2006, where it fought a battle without a clear strategic vision and co-ordination (and Hamas, unless Hezbollah, is cut off from the rest of the world).
3. Israel is concerned about the humanitarian situation of the Gazan population.

Yep, you got that last one right --- having produced a situation where Gazans are dying, wounded, starving, in the dark, suffering from cold, hiding in houses which may or may not be attacked --- Israel is "concerned" about them.

The absurdity of this came out with yet another military expert, retired Lt. Gen'l Russel Honore. He said --- with a straight face --- that having destroyed the rockets, the task for the IDF was to "win over" the Gazan people with food and medical aid.

The irony reminds me --- in a tragic way --- of Britain's Prince Philip, a keen hunter of all things two- and four-legged, "protecting" them as head of the World Wildlife Fund.



8:15 p.m. And now CNN, for objective analysis, is turning to Michael Oren (whom I once knew as a pretty good historian), who is now an arch-defender of Israel crushing "Islamic fundamentalists".

Enough pseudo-analysis amidst a lull in the news. Off to dinner with the kids.

8:07 p.m. Good old CNN. To counter the images of humanitarian crisis, correspondent Christiane Amanpour trots out to give the response of Israeli Foreign Minister's Tzipi Livni: "I can't understand this notion of proportionality....They are targeting civilians. We are not."

Oh, yes, Amanpour also recycles Benyamin Netanyahu's talking points one more time. Why not just attach her and CNN to the Israeli Foreign Ministry's communications section and be done with it?

8:05 p.m. Israeli Defense Forces is still saying 1 soldier killed and 30 wounded in fighting. More significantly, IDF says 40 rockets fired into southern Israel (up from 30 on Saturday)

8 p.m. Red Crescent sending a convoy of 11 trucks with medical supplies and food from Damascus. A test of the Israeli blockade: will the Israeli Defense Forces let the aid through?

7 p.m. Israel Defense Forces claim they have killed three leading members of Hamas' military wing: Housam Hamdan and Mohammed Hilou in an airstrike in Khan Yunis and Mohammed Shalpokh in Jabaliya.

6:40 p.m. Palestinian head of emergency and ambulance services say more than 50 Gazans killed since start of ground invasion.

Israel is allegedly dropping flyers asking Gazans to call and provide information. The Angry Arab News Service has a copy of one leaflet.

6:15 p.m. Forgive me, but this is really terrible journalism. Because CNN had Erakat on, it has to then put on former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In contrast to the "isn't Hamas terrible?" refrain thrown at Erakat, disregarding his points about the humanitarian situation and damage to the peace process, Wolf Blitzer plays set-up man for Netanyahu: "How do you respond to the UN Secretary-General's criticism of humanitarian action?", "There are some suggesting that Israel is seeking remove Hamas and install Mahmoud Abbas as leader in Gaza --- is that true?", "Finish your thought on how you're hoping this operation against Hamas will end differently from your operation against Hezbollah in 2006", etc.

So Netanyahu gets a comfortable platform to roll out his talking points which, at least to provide interest, include, "Ultimately we will have to remove Hamas."

6:10 p.m. On CNN Saeb Erakat, the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, is issuing a strident denunciation of the Israeli attack and calling for an immediate cease-fire. Sticking to the proper script, CNN's Wolf Blitzer keeps banging on, "Is Hamas to blame for the current crisis?" To his credit, Erakat keeps cool, "I'm not here to score points. I'm concerned with the consequences --- this is undermining the peace process. We need a process of de-escalation," and calls again for cease-fire and dealing with the humanitarian crisis.

6 p.m. Shimon Peres, President of Israel, has rejected calls for a cease-fire on American television:

We don't intend neither to occupy Gaza nor to crush Hamas, but to crush terror. And Hamas needs a real and serious lesson. They are now getting it.

Al Jazeera is leading with the story of a father, mother, and three children killed in an Israeli attack in the northern Gaza Strip and a report on the "desperate situation" in Gaza's hospitals. The injured are dying as they await treatment.

In a disturbing twist on the medical story, Israel's Channel 1 is highlighting the allegation that "top Hamas terrorists" are hiding in Gaza City's Al-Shifa hospital.

Reports say Israeli Defense Forces have confirmed the death of one soldier. The IDF is denying that Hamas has kidnapped any of their troops.

Most telephone lines in Gaza have been cut. The only electricity for most people is coming from generators and car batteries, running small devices.

4:10 p.m. I'm taking a break to go bowling with the kids --- please send updates via "Comment" section and I'll upload on my return.

4:06 p.m. Forgive the analogy but this is starting to feel like the Israeli occupation of Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War.

4 p.m. Al Jazeera updates show Gaza split in half by Israeli forces. Ayman Mohyeldin reports that Israeli objective is to surround Gaza City --- Israeli forces can be seen advancing towards it. Question is now whether those forces will try and enter the city.

3:45 p.m. Al Jazeera shows statement of US Deputy Representative to UN, Alejandro de Wolf: "We are not going to equate the actions of Israel, a member state of the UN, with the actions of the terrorist group Hamas. There is no equivalence here."

3:30 p.m. United Nations Relief and Works Agency representative speaks of humanitarian crisis in Gaza and says population are being "terrorised" by situation: "It is impossible to convey in words how bad this is."

3:25 p.m. Doctor with Norwegian Aid Committee at Gaza's main hospital reports that majority of casualties are civilians. Almost 30 percent are children.

3:17 p.m. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev, reporting on this morning's Israeli Cabinet meeting, repeats the mantra that a cease-fire must be "sustainable and durable" and not just a "band-aid solution".

Pushing the political strategy, Regev stresses that there are "cracks" between Hamas and the Gazan population.

3:15 p.m. Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida tells Al Jazeera that "entire Palestinian people support this resistance....The battle is just starting."

3:13 p.m. As Al Jazeera's correspondent on Israel-Gaza border gives a live report, two rockets are fired into southern Israel.

3:07 p.m. CNN has interview by phone with Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan (30 seconds)

3 p.m. CNN hands over its broadcast to Israeli Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog who, while setting out the proper interpretation of the "defensive" invasion, confirms that Israeli troops have moved from east to west to cut Gaza in two.

Herzog adds that concern for Gazans is "at the bottom of the heart" of Israeli Cabinet, as it ensures "no humanitarian pressure" in Gaza. Only 10 percent of Gazan casualties are civilians, and Israel has made more than 100,000 phone calls to the population.

2:50 p.m. At least 30 Palestinians killed since start of ground invasion. Fighting east of Hamas stronghold of Zeitoun.

2:15 p.m. Israeli troops have captured Al-Aqsa Television and are broadcasting messages calling on Hamas leaders to give themselves up.

The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, using this image from Reuters, is claiming the use of cluster bombs by Israeli forces. (hat tip to one of our readers)



2:10 p.m. Protests are growing in Ramallah on the West Bank with reports that Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian in Qalqilya.

2 p.m. Palestinian sources confirm that Israeli forces control eastern Gaza.

Lebanese Army and police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in front of US Embassy in Beirut.

Reports of 12 rockets fired into southern Israel. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin confirms that rockets have been fired from Gaza City. Hamas says it welcomes Israeli ground invasion as a sign that it is winning the conflict.

1 p.m. Massive protests in Ramallah in the West Bank and in Beirut, Lebanon

12:30 p.m. Ominous signs for the Israel public-relations campaign: not only Al Jazeera but CNN are focusing on humanitarian crisis, showing medical staff treating injured on the floors of hospitals

12:15 p.m. Palestinian medical sources now say at least 25 Gazans killed since start of Israeli ground attack.