Wednesday
Jan142009
The Israeli Invasion of Gaza: Rolling Updates (14 Jan --- Evening)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 21:38
Later Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (15 January)
Earlier Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (14 January)
1 a.m. Israeli shell hits car carrying senior UN officials, wounding driver.
12:45 a.m. Clarification on the state of play over the Cairo proposals. Hamas says it has presented a "detailed vision" on implementation of a cease-fire, which Egypt will now relay to Israel. Hamas' conditions include guarantees that Israel will lift the blockade on Gaza, but significantly Hamas is prepared to accept European and Turkish monitors of Gaza border "along with the Palestinian Authority's security forces and those of the government in Gaza". (In other words, Palestinian Authority can have a role as long as there are no Israeli monitors.)
Hamas sources say that if Israel accepts the Egyptian proposals, "We will be ready to start (the ceasefire) immediately."
12:30 a.m. Our colleagues at Alive in Gaza have posted a second audio dispatch from Gaza City by photojournalist Sameh Habeeb.
12 midnight: Saudi Arabia has called for an emergency summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This is not as much a diplomatic initiative as a blocking move, forestalling calls for a full Arab League summit.
Evening update (11:30 p.m. Israel/Gaza time): The diplomatic flutter of a possible Hamas agreement to Egyptian proposals appears to have been premature, as "news" has reverted back to a summary of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's trip to the Middle East.
The near-irrelevance of that mission has been highlighted by the news that, after the talks in Egypt today, Ban will visit Israel, Jordan, and Syria...but not Hamas. So the facade of negotiations, in which one side can only be approached by Cairo, continues.
Gazan death toll is now about 1017 with almost 5000 injured. Al Jazeera correspondent Ayman Moyheldin says that, while fewer Gazans killed on Wednesday, residents faced "complete fear and terror....For those who venture out [for food] ... they know that anytime they leave their house it could be the last time."
Israeli death toll is 13, of whom 10 are soldiers.
Earlier Updates: The Israeli Invasion of Gaza (14 January)
1 a.m. Israeli shell hits car carrying senior UN officials, wounding driver.
12:45 a.m. Clarification on the state of play over the Cairo proposals. Hamas says it has presented a "detailed vision" on implementation of a cease-fire, which Egypt will now relay to Israel. Hamas' conditions include guarantees that Israel will lift the blockade on Gaza, but significantly Hamas is prepared to accept European and Turkish monitors of Gaza border "along with the Palestinian Authority's security forces and those of the government in Gaza". (In other words, Palestinian Authority can have a role as long as there are no Israeli monitors.)
Hamas sources say that if Israel accepts the Egyptian proposals, "We will be ready to start (the ceasefire) immediately."
12:30 a.m. Our colleagues at Alive in Gaza have posted a second audio dispatch from Gaza City by photojournalist Sameh Habeeb.
12 midnight: Saudi Arabia has called for an emergency summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This is not as much a diplomatic initiative as a blocking move, forestalling calls for a full Arab League summit.
Evening update (11:30 p.m. Israel/Gaza time): The diplomatic flutter of a possible Hamas agreement to Egyptian proposals appears to have been premature, as "news" has reverted back to a summary of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's trip to the Middle East.
The near-irrelevance of that mission has been highlighted by the news that, after the talks in Egypt today, Ban will visit Israel, Jordan, and Syria...but not Hamas. So the facade of negotiations, in which one side can only be approached by Cairo, continues.
Gazan death toll is now about 1017 with almost 5000 injured. Al Jazeera correspondent Ayman Moyheldin says that, while fewer Gazans killed on Wednesday, residents faced "complete fear and terror....For those who venture out [for food] ... they know that anytime they leave their house it could be the last time."
Israeli death toll is 13, of whom 10 are soldiers.
Reader Comments (2)
America must stand up and set a position here. If your authorities support this then in practice the whole nation supports it. This is a terrible massacre with so much suffer that there is no justification for this. The children are terrified and you support it blindly. How can that be? Image it was the other way.
Egypt has moved soooooooooo slowly during the nearly 3 weeks of fighting. Its snail's pace is remarkable. It is almost as if Mubarak wants the Israelis to achieve their military objectives. But what if Olmert comes to the conclusion that an occupation of a small section of Gaza (buffer zone) is necessary? That would be politically damaging for Olmert, of course, and I mean domestically. So he probably won't go that far. But Israel has a history of grabbing more land when it feels that drastic measures are necessary for guaranteeing its security.