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Israel on the attack

It is easy to be cynical about the escalation of the conflict between Hamas, in Gaza, and the Israelis, when it is borne in mind that apart from 2 occassions, a battle of one sort or another between the Palestinians and Israelis has erupted shortly before an election in Israel.    Coincidental?   Hardly!

The latest as captured on CommonDreams by Abby Zimet:

"Oh, Gaza. At least 15 Palestinians, including four children, have been killed and 150 injured since the Israelis began attacking the Gaza Strip after assassinating a Hamas commander. Three Israelis also died from rocket fire. Amidst the escalation, Noam Chomsky and other linguists blast the skewed, "willfully dishonest" and "reprehensible" media coverage. Much more: Timeline, background, emergency global protests, the terrorizing of ordinary Palestinians, eyewitness accounts, live updates, many - warning - graphic photos, and Buzzfeed asks why Israel is allowed to kill people on Twitter and YouTube."

See also "Gershon Baskin, who helped mediate between Israel and Hamas in the deal to release Gilad Shalit, says Israel made a mistake that will cost the lives of 'innocent people on both sides.'" on Israel's newspaper, Haaretz.

Update:     "Israel has launched multiple new air strikes on the Gaza Strip, including several hits on Gaza City, as it readied troops and warned it was ready to step up its offensive against militant targets.

“There have been 130 strikes overnight until now,” Hamas interior ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan said, citing “tens of strikes” across Gaza early today, as correspondents in Gaza City reported multiple raids.

Shahwan said the strikes destroyed a building belonging to the interior ministry and used for administrative issues like passport renewals in the Gaza City neighbourhood of Tel al-Hawa.

Eyewitnesses said training positions used by various Palestinian militant groups had also been hit in the latest round of strikes.

Hamas emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said the toll now stood at 19 Palestinians, several of them children, with a further 235 people injured."



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