The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (14 January)

Latest Post: Gaza Diaries --- Dying and Awaiting Death
Latest Post: Alive in Gaza Audio and Written Blogs --- "We Do Not Know What Tomorrow is Holding for Us"
Earlier Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (13 January --- Evening)

7:20 p.m. Sky News in Britain is claiming that Hamas has agreed "in principle" to Egyptian proposals. Unclear, however, if Sky report is based on an earlier announcement by Spanish Foreign Ministry, now retracted. Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said earlier to Al Jazeera that "points of difference" remained over the Egyptian proposals, while Hamas spokesman in Syria said agreement had been reached.

More when we get out of a bloggers' gathering in Birmingham.

6:30 p.m. The long-term effect of the Israeli invasion? From today's Washington Post:

A cornerstone of Israel's strategy in Gaza is to crush Hamas's will to fight, especially its determination to fire rockets into southern Israel. But in interviews here with wounded supporters of the Islamist militia, Israel's assaults appear to be breeding more recruits and more popular support for Hamas.

Men who say they have never fought before or were not Hamas loyalists now vow to join the struggle against Israel when they return to Gaza. They include policemen and other professionals who form part of the backbone of Gazan society.

6:05 p.m. While awaiting developments, I found the opening to this report in The New York Times gets to the heart of the political/military matter:

Despite heavy air and ground assaults, Israel has yet to cripple the military wing of Hamas or destroy the group’s ability to launch rockets, Israeli intelligence officials said on Tuesday, suggesting that Israel’s main goals in the conflict remain unfulfilled even after 18 days of war.

The comments reflected a view among some Israeli officials that any lasting solution to the conflict would require either a breakthrough diplomatic accord that heavily restricts Hamas’s military abilities or a deeper ground assault into urban areas of Gaza. 

5:30 p.m. We've just posted an update on two Gaza accounts, the words of a four-year-old girl in a hospital and the extraordinary "Gaza Diary" of Safa Joudeh.



5 p.m. The latest update from the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator, current to 5 p.m. yesterday:

Civilians, notably children who form 56 percent of Gaza’s population, are bearing the brunt of the violence. As one of the most densely populated places in the world, more civilians risk being killed or injured if the conflict continues. The parties to conflict must respect the norms of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality.

4:45 p.m. The Gazan death toll, according to medical services, has passed 1000. Beyond the morbid symbolism of passing that mark, a colleague at lunch has offered the following: given the Gaza population of 1.5 million, this is the equivalent in US of 200,000 dead.

3 p.m. So here's the statement from Ban Ki-Moon in Cairo:

I repeat my call for an immediate and durable cease-fire. I've been urging in the strongest of possible terms all sides must stop fighting now. We don't have any time to lose.

A statement which, I fear, is spitting into the wind: no evidence of any advance from Ban's talks with the Egyptians.

Afternoon update (2 p.m. Israel/Gaza time): No significant word from Ban Ki-Moon's talks in Cairo. Periodic gunfire and bombings in Gaza City.

Peripheral news: a chap named Osama bin Laden has issued a statement on Gaza, calling for "jihad".

11:05 a.m. Juan Cole considers one of the important effects of the conflict, a souring of relations between Turkey and Israel.

11 a.m. Gazan death toll now 978 with more than 4500 wounded.

10:45 a.m. Huge development which effectively means no advance in the diplomatic process.

Ha'aretz reports on the split in the Israeli Cabinet: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who wants to press ahead with military operations, is refusing to meet with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, both of whom support a cease-fire: "On Wednesday, he will not convene the political-security cabinet to discuss whether the operations should go on."

10:40 a.m. Watching an extraordinary "Inside Story" from Al Jazeeera on protests and the Gaza conflict. Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute is close to screaming at the other participants and making statements such as "The Hamas leadership is in a bunker underneath al Shifa hospital" (hmmm.....), "There was not a daysince the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza that went by without a Hamas rocket fired into Israel" (false --- for example, official Israeli figures show only one rocket fired into Israel in July 2008) and "There was no blockade" (I leave that one up to you).

It's simple for Muravchik: Israel and Hamas are "morally unequal".

10:25 a.m.  Global Voices has just posted the heart-felt but disturbing reflections of a Tel Aviv construction worker who worked alongside six Gazans for 18 months in 1996-97. Despite the passage of time, it is well worth a read:

I and most other non-Gazans would break down after a week of such a schedule, but our Gazans lived like this for decades. Up until the day the [Gaza Strip] was shut down once and for all, and the life of people there grew even worse. […] Having seen all this, I understood even then that it was impossible to defeat these people or break them down. They can either be eliminated, or we can learn to live together with them. There are no other options.

(Hat tip to Lisa Goldman.)

10 a.m. This from The Independent of London:

At least three Palestinians in Gaza were shot dead yesterday after Israeli soldiers fired on a group of residents leaving their homes on orders from the military and waving white flags, according to testimony taken by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. The testimony was rejected by the military after what it said was a preliminary investigation.

9:50 a.m. Our colleagues at "Alive in Gaza" have posted their first audio despatch, from photojournalist Sameh Habeeb in Gaza City.

Morning update (9:30 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): The overnight military pattern continued. Israeli airstrikes on more than 60 targets, as well as naval and land bombardment. Fighting as Israeli forces further secured their positions around Gazan cities, while in southern Gaza, Israeli planes used bunker-busting bombs on tunnels near Rafah.

The headline development is on the other side of Israel. Three rockets from Lebanon, in the second launch in recent days, landed in northern Israel. The "National Front" has claimed responsibility,but worryingly CNN is already putting out the line that "nothing happens without the wink and nod of Hezbollah".

In what is likely to be a depressing diplomatic sideshow, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon visits the region today, seeing Egyptian and Arab League leaders on Wednesday and Israeli leaders on Thursday. Without visible support from another international entity, such as the United States or the European Union, or a parallel effort by the Arab League, I am afraid the trip will be publicity without substance (although if Ban can use the trip to get some movement on the humanitarian front, it may not be without value).

Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly will convene, offering its own symbolism of a denunciation of Tel Aviv. The President of the General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann. has condemned the Israeli attacks as "genocide" against the Palestinian people.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (13 January)

Latest Post: Israel Requests, Bush Responds: The US Abstention on the UN Cease-Fire Resolution
Latest post: The "Violent Semi-Peace" in Iraq

5:10 p.m. A piece of critical information from Al Jazeera: Israeli Ministry of Defense official Amos Gilad still has not gone to Cairo --- he was supposed to be there Monday morning. Analysis is that Israel is sitting back, waiting for Egypt to get agreement from Hamas on conditions that Israel wants on monitoring of the border and tunnels.

Al Jazeera analyst: "Hamas is being asked to raise the white flag."

5:05 p.m. Al Jazeera live shots of Israeli attack helicopters as operations continue around Gaza City and battles in the south of Gaza, with Israel targeting tunnel network. Al Jazeera correspondents project "Phase 3" within 24-48 hours.



4:50 p.m. How to Sit on A Fence: At her confirmation hearings, Secretary of State-elect Hillary Clinton --- in her first comments on the Gaza crisis --- says US must back Israeli security needs but acknowledge Palestinian aspirations.

4:30 p.m. A curious lull in news: CNN website uses the dramatic headline "Israel tanks roll into Gaza City" but fighting still appears to be on periphery of the city. Given pattern of recent days, it will be after dusk when Israel presses forward.

4 p.m. Red Cross president Jakob Kellenberger statement after visit to al Shifa hospital: "It hurts a lot when you've seen what I've just seen....A medical mission in such a conflict has to be perfected. These people cannot wait for days or even hours to be evacuated."

3:15 p.m. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Hamas official Ghazi Hamid expresses optimism about developments in Egypt-Hamas talks in Cairo.

3 p.m. The medical crisis escalates, despite the supposed "humanitarian corridors": 28 clinics, almost half of Gaza's total, are closed, hospitals have only 6-8 hours of electricity each day, and ambulances can't move for fear of being fired upon

2:15 p.m. The head of the Red Cross has arrived for three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, including a visit to al Shifa hospital.

1:55 p.m. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights: "At least 85% of the casualties [are] civilian non-combatants." The Center estimates up to 200,000 Gazans, out of a population of 1.5 millions, have been forced out of their homes.

1:40 p.m. Gazan resident Fares Akram in The Independent:

We don't even see Hamas police in the streets. It isn't that they've gone underground, but they are wearing civilian clothes and they don't dare to show their weapons, or drive their blue police cars which are all still parked in the same places they were in when this started.

Not that there is any law and order to enforce. The prisons have been emptied by the bombing and some have taken advantage of the chaos to carry out vengeance killings or to settle clan feuds.

1:35 p.m. Medical clinics run by Christian Aid and the Catholic organisation Caritas were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday. Meanwhile, less than 200 of the 1200 hospital beds in Egypt reserved for Gazan victims have been filled.

1:15 p.m. Mahmoud Abbas has resurfaced, accusing Israel of trying out to "wipe out" the Palestinian people by refusing to cease-fire in Gaza

11:40 a.m. Sharp and pertinent observation from Al Jazeera analyst: Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas has now absented himself from the process and "may well pay the political price" when conflict is over.

11:25 a.m. Two Arab blocs, with total of seven members in Knesset, banned from standing in forthcoming Israeli elections.

11:20 a.m. Division in Israeli Cabinet: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni prefers unilateral Israeli declaration when "objectives are achieved"; Defense Minister Ehud Barak prefers cease-fire; Prime Minsiter Ehud Olmert pressing for more military operations.

11:10 a.m. Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan on Al Jazeera: Hamas representatives in Cairo "have the authority and can make their conclusions" to reach an agreement. Hamas conditions: no acceptance of international forces in Gaza, Israeli withdrawal, full opening of border crossings.

11:00 a.m. Question to Al Jazeera's Ayman Moyheldin: "Are there any quiet, safe places in Gaza now?" Moyheldin: "The short answer to no. There simply are no safe places in Gaza."

11 a.m. Reports of Israeli soldiers wounded, one critically, entering "booby-trapped house".

10:30 a.m. From Mohammed, a blogger in Gaza, about the fighting south of Gaza City:

i noticed a message from areej, my uncle mohammads wifes: the tanks have reached us, theres smoke in the house, please pray for us.

i called her. i could hear explosions just outside, and machine gun fire. just before 2 am, israeli tanks and special forces had entered an area just outside tal al-hawa, near the community college. they'd come up against surprisingly touigh and violent resistance. tanks firing randomly into neighbrhoods. white phosphorous munitions used to cover an aparent retreat. the entire apartment is filled with white smoke, the kids are up, screaming. there seems to be a definite retreat, but they're expecting the worst. they say to please keep praying for their safety and for the resistance. they dont know if they will live.

9:50 a.m. Looks like --- by skill or fortune --- our analysis is on the mark: Ha'aretz reports, "Olmert seeks push in Cairo talks before Gaza op enters third stage".

What we didn't know, however, is that Ministry of Defense official Amos Gilad didn't make it to Cairo on Monday. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak met last night, and Olmert then told a series of foreign leaders that the talks with Egypt would be proceeding.

On a separate track, Hamas leaders arrived in Cairo last night for their own discussions.

Morning update (9:40 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): More of the same on military front, as Israel's bombardment continues and its forces ring Gaza City. Israeli tanks are edging into the city from the northwest and the northeast, approaching Hamas' preventative security building. Heavy fighting in Tal al-Awa, south of the city. In the south, fighting east of Khan Younis; Ayman Moyheldin of Al Jazeera reports that the Israeli bombardment has reduced Rafah "to rubble".

Gazan death toll is now 919; 40 percent of dead are women and children. Israeli death toll is 13, of whom 10 are soldiers.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (12 January)

Latest post: Orwellian Press Release of the Day --- The Israeli Consulate and "Waltz with Bashir"
Latest Post: Tony Blair Slams Hamas; His Former Ambassador Slams Blair and Israel
Latest post: A Gaza Diary
Latest Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (12 Jan. --- Evening)

4:30 p.m. In case anyone cares: in his last press conference as President, George Bush says Hamas has to stop firing rockets into Israel if it wants a cease-fire.

4 p.m. United Nations Human Rights Commissionadopts resolution condemning Gaza offensive and accusing Israel of "grave" human rights violations



3:30 p.m. Heavy gunfire reported in north and east of Gaza.

2:30 p.m. Public relations meets reality: CNN website is noting another three-hour respite from Israeli attacks to allow aid into Gaza, but the lead story is highlighting the diary of an aid worker:

All of Gaza is on the verge of collapse: Most people have no electricity, no running water and inadequate food supplies. Fuel is running low. And only a fraction of aid needed to sustain Gaza's 1.5 million residents is getting in.

2:05 p.m. Israel allows 105 trucks with aid into Gaza. (This compares with about 750/day during truce period.)

2 p.m. Gazan death toll now 905, of whom at least 277 are children and 95 are elderly. More than 90 are women. About 4100 Gazans have been wounded.

12:20 p.m. On BBC Radio 4 this morning, Jeremy Greenstock --- former British Ambassador to the United Nations and the British representative on the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq --- sharply criticised Israeli policy in the Gaza conflict. My colleague Canuckistan has just posted an analysis.

10:22 a.m. Bombardment continues near Rafah.

10 a.m. Israeli reservists now operating in some Gaza City neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, a fascinating --- if you can be fascinated amidst this tragedy --- story of the splits in Israeli Cabinet: it appears that the man in charge of Israel's military, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, is reluctant to expand operations. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is also ready to declare "mission accomplished", but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is pressing for further military moves.

9:15 a.m. Al Jazeera now giving close coverage to Israel's use of white phosphorous, with Ayman Moyheldin reporting on patients suffering from effects and Dr. Moussa el-Haddad, who witnessed use of the bombs, talking about "respiratory distress"

9:04 a.m. Heavy fighting reported overnight in Gaza City's Sheikh Ajleen neighbourhood. Huge plume of smoke above minaret of Gaza City mosque.

9 a.m. Israeli intelligence reportedly calling Gazan residents. Speaking in Arabic, they are "friendly at first", but eventually ask about whereabouts of Hamas fighters.

8:20 a.m. The United Nations Humanitarian Corridor has released the latest report on conditions in Gaza, current to 5 p.m. Gaza time on Sunday:

There is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and for every day that hostilities continue, the cost for the civilian population inevitably intensifies. Only an immediate cease-fire will be able to address the large-scale humanitarian and protection crisis that faces the people of Gaza.

Morning update (8 a.m. Israel/Gaza time): Little change in the overnight pattern, awaiting Monday's Israeli Cabinet meeting. Number of Israeli reservists sent into Gaza unclear. Fewer airstrikes overnight, but heavy bombardment on ground and from sea continued, especially just outside Gaza City, where heavy fighting is reported.  About 20 rockets fired into southern Israel on Sunday.

Gazan death toll is now 898, of whom 45 percent are women and children. Israeli death toll remains 13, of whom 10 are soldiers.

Follow-Up: The Plan to Bring Fatah into Gaza --- Livni Speaks

For those still sceptical of our notion of the "grand design" to topple Hamas and replace it with Fatah....

I just read carefully Israeli Foreign Tzipi Livni's interview in today's Washington Post. Most reports have focused on the headline, "Israel is Not Going to Show Restraint", but the political significance is hidden away in the second half of the interview:

POST: People in Washington are interested in how long the operation will last and what Israel's aim is.

LIVNI: The Annapolis[peace] process is based on the understanding that we are working with a pragmatic leadership in the Palestinian Authority while fighting terror. It is a zero-sum game when Hamas is getting stronger while Abu Mazen is getting weaker. The Palestinians need to understand that Israel can share and implement and translate the vision of two states for two peoples with those that accept this vision, who accept Israel's existence and renounce violence and terrorism. Hamas does not. Hamas does not represent the national aspirations of the Palestinians. It represents extreme Islamic ideas, which they share with Iran, Hezbollah and Syria.



POST: Your goal is to continue the dialogue with the Palestinian Authority but also weaken the extremists?

LIVNI: Yes. . . . We are willing to . . . try and find a peace treaty with the moderates as long [as] at the end of the day, we don't fight a terror state on the other side of the border.

POST: Would you say [Hamas] needs to be removed?

LIVNI: I would say that the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas is a burden not only to Israel but to the Palestinians themselves.

The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (9 January)

Later Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (10 January)
Latest Post: Gaza: The Mass Killing in Zeitoun
Gaza: Tasteful Video Game of the Day
Headline Analysis: The United Nations “Cease-fire” Vote



1:35 a.m. We're going to get some downtime. Not a happy end to the day, I fear. The issue of whether a cease-fire will be observed, less than 24 hours after the passage of the UN resolution, is already long-gone. Instead, the overnight question will be how far Israel expands military operations. The United States, not only with its abstention in the UN but with subsequent statements (more on that in the morning), has thrown its weight behind the Israeli course of action. Conversely, with the failure of the resolution to go anywhere, the Arab states --- including the Palestinian Authority --- and the European Union seem to be in disarray.

There may be some developments in Cairo, where talks on the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal resume. And one can only hope that there is something positive to report, such as a resumption of UN aid and a true "respite" in the bombing, on the humanitarian front.

Peace to all.



11:10 p.m. Here's one for the Israel Info Guys in Tel Aviv and New York.

You know the "human shields" line that Hamas hides behind civilians, especially women and children, to conduct their nefarious activities? Well, a released Gazan detainee has offered an inconvenient twist --- at least for Israel:

In the first day (of the ground offensive) special forces stormed Beit Lahiya. Maybe a thousand soldiers landed on rooftops then began arresting people....They used us as human shields in military positions they established inside Gaza Strip before they drove us to a prison in Beersheba. They made us sleep on gravel, or on the sand. They stripped us of our clothes.

And here's a little footnote: "They used a bulldozer to pile up the bodies of the dead."

10:45 p.m. One to Watch for Tomorrow. After a meeting at the Israeli Defense Ministry, the United Nations has agreed to resume aid shipments into Gaza. The organisation said in a statement, "The U.N. received credible assurances that the security of U.N. personnel, installations and humanitarian operations would be fully respected."

8:30 p.m. Today's meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting lasted four hours. There was no announcement of the Cabinet's decision, if any, on ground operations. Instead an Israel statement said that the Cabinet decided to continue humanitarian activity in Gaza and keep up efforts "to prevent the smuggling of war materiel into the Gaza Strip".

8:25 p.m. Updated Gazan health toll: 789 dead of whom 230 are children, 92 are women. Around 60 of the dead were elderly. Six were paramedics, and two were journalists.

8:20 p.m. Al Jazeera says senior Hamas delegation en route to Cairo for talks. 8:05 p.m. One journalist lightly wounded in Israeli attack on building used by media. Israeli spokesman Mark Regev says Israeli military were targeting the "antenna".

7:50 p.m. Finally, a possible explanation for all the Israeli movement around Beit Lahiya a couple of hours ago. The military arm of Hamas, the Al Qassam Brigades, are claiming that they killed eight Israeli soldiers in an ambush in the area. Israeli Defense Forces would have responded by sending in more ground units to push back and attack the ambushers.

6:35 p.m. Israeli forces have apparently hit Gazan headquarters of Iran's Press TV, though no casualties reported.

6:20 p.m. Quality Journalism in Action. CNN's Jim Clancy: "Will [Hamas] keep a cease-fire? Their brand is militancy and their message is rocketry."

5:50 p.m. Tear gas used on demonstrators in Amman. Al Jazeera cameraman injured.

5:30 p.m. A dark spot on the military developments with no significant updates.

5:10 p.m. How to Define an Effective Media: While Israel launches significant ground operation which may be "Phase 3" of invasion, CNN has taken no notice but is letting Israeli spokesman Mark Regev trot out his talking points for several minutes.

5:05 p.m. Now becoming obvious from Al Jazeera and Gazan witnesses that major Israeli ground operation underway, with movement of tanks underneath "smoke (white phosphorous?) bombs" towards Beit Lahiya and Beit Lahoun

5 p.m. Large explosion reported near tunnels in Rafah although tanks have "pulled back slightly" from Khan Yunis. Reports of "intense fighting" in Jabaliya and explosion over Beit Lahoun. Unconfirmed reports of use of white phosphorous.

3:35 p.m. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's rejection of the UN cease-fire resolution is unequivocal: "The state of Israel has never agreed that any outside body would determine its right to defend the security of its citizens."

3:25 p.m. Gillerman repeats again and again that the civilian casualties are occurring because Hamas has the population "in a hostage situation". Which raises the question: at what point do you stop killing hostages?

3:20 p.m. Classic non-contradiction of the day.  Dan Gillerman, Israel's information coordinator, to Al Jazeera: "This is not a public relations exercise."

3:05 p.m. Al Jazeera analysis: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ready to halt operations because Israel has sent sufficient signal, Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants to give diplomacy a chance to work, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wants to press ahead with military campaign

3 p.m. Israeli bombardment continues, as Gazan death toll reaches 781. More than 30 rockets fired into southern Israel today. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says cease-fire "unworkable" in light of rocket attacks.

Two of the recent strikes hit a petrol station, sending dark smoke for two hours over Gaza City, and a bus station.

2:22 p.m. Photojournalist Samah Habeeb, who we are following on Twitter, spoke 36 hours ago to The Indypendent of New York City. It is a fascinating and terrifying interview:

There is no bread. There is no sugar. There is no gas. There is no fuel. There is no electricity and there is no wood. There is no cement. Everything you can imagine, we do not have. And this was a problem that started with the blockade and that has accentuated since the attacks began. It was preplanned. It is not only a matter of a rocket being fired here and there. It is a strategy that Israel has followed.

2:12 p.m. Military analyst Theodore Karasik on Al Jazeera: Israel "definitely" using white phosphorous bombs in Gaza. Inevitable that, in crowded area such as Gaza, civilians will be affected, receiving "third-degree burns".

2:08 p.m. Al Jazeera reports live from demonstrations in West Bank in Bili'n. Israeli troops now chasing the demonstrators deeper into the town.

Demonstrators are wearing striped shirts in reference to the concentration camps of World War II and have also compared today's Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto.

Demonstrations have also taken place after Friday prayers in East Jerusalem.

2:05 p.m. Today's "respite" is a sham. Israel has been attacking without pause --- Al Jazeera's correspondent on Israel-Gaza border reports with smoke billowing behind him --- and Hamas is sending rockets across. No possibility of aid coming in.

1:05 p.m. Israel says it hopes to get 60 trucks with aid into Gaza today. The announcement is pointless, apart from public relations, as the United Nations has said it will not carry out shipments unless it has assurances of security from Israeli attacks.

1 p.m. Israeli raids on more than 50 targets today, while 25 rockets launched into southern Israel.

12:30 p.m. A follow-up to our report on yesterday's mass killing in Zeitoun is now posted.

12:10 p.m. If there's a three-hour respite, it's not a very good one. Two explosions, one live on Al Jazeera, in northern Gaza in last 10 minutes.

12:05 p.m. Why no word today on the talks in Cairo on the Mubarak-Sarkozy proposal?

12 noon: Israeli bombardment continues. Loud explosions in Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun. Confirmation that six people killed in Beit Lahiya.

Confusion as Israeli military says there will be three-hour respite today but will not confirm the time.

11:35 a.m. Photojournalist Sameh Habeeb, on Twitter from Gaza: "tired from Israeli war.....I can't sleep".

11:25 a.m. Israeli forces have "locked down" the West Bank for 48 hours, with no movement in or out except for emergencies and special cases. Thousands of police officers have been deployed in East Jerusalem in response to Hamas' call for a "day of wrath". Friday is prayer day for Muslims.

11:10 a.m. Al Jazeera: Unofficial Israeli comment about UN Security Council vote is largely negative. One official calls it a "victory" for the "terrorist lobby".

Israeli Security Cabinet now meeting to discuss its next steps. Israeli military commanders reportedly complaining that they are in a "holding position", making them easier targets for Hamas --- three Israeli soldiers were killed on Thursday.

10:55 a.m. Jerusalem Post: "Iran's top leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] banned hardline Iranian volunteers on Thursday from leaving the country to carry out suicide bombings against Israel, but he warned that Iran would not spare any effort to assist Hamas in other ways." The newspaper reports that Khamenei told IRIB television, ""I thank the pious and devoted youth who have asked to go to Gaza ... but it must be noted that our hands are [tied] in this arena."

10:45 a.m. Just One More Tragedy: A new Web-based project, "Alive in Gaza", was due to be launched this week. Its aim was to bring stories of Gazans, as it had done with Iraqis with the earlier project "Alive in Baghdad", to those outside the country.

Yesterday, news came through that the cousin of the project coordinator had been killed in an Israeli airstrike, apparently on a Gaza City market. So Alive in Gaza's first post is "Omar Ali Abumghaiseeb killed in Israeli Airstrike".

10:20 a.m. Palestinian Authority (West Bank) Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki expressed caution, even scepticism, about the United Nations Security Council vote for a cease-fire: "I'm really worried...that Israel will takes it time before it recognises the fact that it has to adhere to the resolution."

At the same time, al-Maliki is guarded in his criticism of the US abstention, framing his surprise in the context of praise for the US contribution "to the formation of the resolution....It has been an integral part...from the beginning."

Morning Update (10 a.m. Israeli/Gaza time): Israeli bombardment continues throughout Gaza. Reports of clashes in neighbourhood just northeast of Gaza City.

Hamas official Ghazi Hamid, speaking in Rafah, Egypt, tells CNN that the organisation's fighters are "still strong": "I want to say that we as Palestinian people want to live in peace, security -- but I think [Israel's] occupation force will not give us the chance."

"Several rockets" have hit southern Israel overnight.