Operation Cast Lead
Day 4 - Tuesday 30 December 2008
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said his country is engaged in "all-out war" with Gaza's Hamas rulers. Israel has pledged to fight Hamas to the death. Defence Minister Ehud Barack has said that the ongoing air strikes on Gaza are a 'war to the bitter end against Hamas militants'. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told President Shimon Peres that "the military operation is still in its initial stages, and the security cabinet is granting the IDF as much room for maneuver as it needs in order to reach the goals set by the government." Olmert said that the main goal of the military operation was to stop rocket attacks from Gaza onto Israeli soil.
On Tuesday 30 December 2008 a heavy HAMAS rocket barrage throughout western Negev continued throughout the night and schools remained closed in a 30 km radius from the Gaza Strip. Rocket fire resumed late Tuesday morning. Rockets exploded Tuesday afternoon in Kiryat Malakhi and Rahat, both about 35 km from the Gaza Strip. Over 700,000 Israeli residents were under immediate threat due to the 40-km range of the rocket fire out of the Gaza Strip. Israeli aerial attacks on Gaza have subsided somewhat. Helicopters launched a few attacks Qassam launching pads in the northern Strip. During one of the strikes in Khan Younis three members of a rocket-launching cell were hit.
Monday night (Dec.30), the IAF struck the offices of the Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh located in Gaza City. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's office was center for the planning, support and financing of terrorist activities against Israel. In addition, the offices of other Hamas ministers in the same area were attacked. The IDF has attacked three structures in Hamas's government complex in the al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City over the past few days, including the Finance Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Labor Ministry and the Construction and Housing Ministry. The buildings have been destroyed as a result of the attacks. The IAF attacked 35 additional targets, including: tunnels in the Rafah border area, weapon storage facilities, Hamas outposts and an armed rocket launcher. Naval forces also attacked a number of targets in the Gaza Strip. including Hamas outposts, training camps, guarding vessels used by Hamas naval forces and rocket launching posts.
Israel continued its air strikes early Tuesday on Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip. In pre-dawn attacks, Israeli aircraft fired missiles into Gaza City, hitting Hamas ministry and security buildings. On Tuesday morning (Dec. 30), IAF struck the Hamas government complex in the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City. During the aerial strike three seven-story buildings that constitute the core of the terrorist organization's government complex were targeted. All of the pilots returned safely to their bases.
The IAF targeted a mosque in the Tel El Hawwa neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday afternoon that was used by Hamas as a Grad missile and Qassam rocket storage site. The Gazan mosque was also turned into a staging ground for rockets and for launching missiles. The most recent rocket launching from the mosque occurred Wednesday morning. The strike set off numerous secondary explosions caused by the munitions stockpiled in the mosque.
IDF operations in the Gaza Strip are being carried out in response to the continued firing of rockets and mortar shells on to Israeli territory, and with the intention to destroy the infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization. The IAF targets include Hamas training camps, headquarters, large weapons storage facilities, and missile launching pads in the Gaza Strip. The IDF states that the attacks are only implemented after precise information has been gathered by the Intelligence Corps that specifically indicates locations in which terror activities are being carried out. At least 13 Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded overnight as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes on Gaza overnight bringing the death toll to 363, a Palestinian emergencies official said on Tuesday. Some 1,750 Palestinians had also been injured in the four-day offensive.
Due to the incessant rocket attacks against Israeli towns, the Home Front Command has revised and expanded its emergency directives for Tuesday (Dec. 30) to include all communities within a 30 kilometer radius of the Gaza Strip. The instructions call for all schools to remain closed, and limit a maximum of 100 individuals per fortified shelter and the discourag all large outdoor gatherings.
Hamas military capabilities had been hit hard, but the group still packed a punch. Some 30 rockets crashed into Israel in the past 24 hours including direct hits on two houses and a bus stop.
Dozens of Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers have massed on the Gaza border, poised for a possible ground assault. Israel is reluctant to send in ground forces because Hamas is dug in in bunkers and tunnels. Israel's defense minister says it is war and all options are on the table. Hamas warns that if there is a ground assault, Gaza will become a graveyard for Israeli troops.
A group of international peace activists set sail from Cyprus Monday to try to deliver Cypriot humanitarian supplies by boat to Gaza. The activists include a former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. The passengers on board include Al-Jazeera and CNN journalists, Dignity, a small cabin cruiser carrying over 3 metric tons of emergency medical supplies donated by the people of Cyprus, departed Larnaca Port in Cyprus late on Monday. When the boat was in international waters, reportedly some 115 km (71.5 miles) off the coast of Gaza, it was surrounded by Israeli warships. Israeli naval ships reportedly rammed the boat, carrying 16 international human rights activists and humanitarian aid.
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