Gaza ground war could be imminent
The comments come on the
heels of reports that the Israel Defense Forces have widened the scope
of their effort to stop rocket attacks from Gaza, targeting Palestinian
media organizations, government buildings and the homes of Hamas
officials in Gaza.
"We are exacting a heavy
price from Hamas and the (other) terrorist organizations, and IDF is
prepared for a significant expansion of its operations," Netanyahu told
reporters shortly before the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting in
Jerusalem.
Saeb Erakat, a member of
the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, told
CNN that Netanyahu should learn "a lesson" that "there will be never be a
security without peace."
Photos: Violence flares between Palestinians, Israelis
Missile hits Israel during CNN live shot
Israeli family talks about Gaza rockets
Netanyahu is "waging a
campaign of attacks and bombardment and military attacks against Gaza,"
and may launch a land invasion, Erakat said. "He wants to kill 1000,
1500, 2000 Palestinians. Where would this put us?"
Erakat part of the
Fatah faction in the West Bank added. "We have one aim now: to ensure
we stop the attacks against Gaza, to ensure to sustain the calm, mutual
comprehensive calm. That's all what we want."
The United States and
several European countries have put the brunt of the blame for the
current crisis on Hamas, saying Israel has a right to protect itself.
Arab and Muslim nations, meanwhile, have accused Israel of being the
aggressor.
Rocket attacks into
Israel were the "precipitating event" for the fighting under way now,
U.S. President Barack Obama said during a stop in Thailand Sunday. "We
are actively working with all the parties in the region to see if we can
end those missiles being fired without further escalation of violence
in the region."
Over the last four days,
militants in Gaza have fired 846 rockets at Israel -- 302 of which were
intercepted by Israe's Iron Dome defense system, according to the IDF.
Nearly 100 rockets fired from Gaza over the same time frame crashed back
into the strip.
"Hamas fires from civilian areas and hits its own people," the IDF said in a Twitter post Sunday.
U.S. fears Israel-Hamas conflict escalates to ground invasion
Over the weekend, Netanyahu said he spoke with a number of leaders, including Obama.
"In my talks with
leaders, I emphasize the effort Israel is making to avoid hitting
civilians, and this at a time when Hamas and other terrorist
organizations are making every effort to hit civilian targets in
Israel," the prime minister said.
French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius, in Jerusalem Sunday meeting with Netanyahu, tweeted a
simple message: "War can be avoided. War must be avoided." The ministry
said he was hoping to "work out a cease-fire with all parties involved."
An Arab League delegation plans to visit Gaza on Tuesday, a spokesman said.
Since Israel launched
its offensive on Wednesday against what it says are "terrorist sites" in
response to persistent rocket attacks that have plagued portion of
southern Israel for months, 57 Palestinians have been killed, according
to a spokesman for the ministry of health in Gaza. They include 15
children, seven women, and five elderly people, the spokesman said. More
than 560 people were injured, he said.
The spokesman did not say how many militants have been killed.
A Palestinian girl and a
man were killed Sunday in an airstrike that targeted the town of
al-Shati in western Gaza, Hamas-run al-Aqsa TV reported.
Six Palestinian
journalists were injured Sunday when Israeli warplanes targeted two
buildings that housed Palestinian and Hamas news organizations as well
as a handful of international news outlets, according to Palestinian
government and media reports. The IDF released a video along with a
message saying it showed the "surgical" targeting of Hamas communication
operations on the roof of a media building in Gaza, and that only the
antenna atop the building was struck.
"If Hamas commanders in
Gaza can communicate with each other, then they can attack us," the IDF
said in one of its several Twitter posts on the issue. "This is the
capability that we targeted ... We did not target any other floors." The
IDF also urged reporters to "stay away from Hamas positions and
operatives."
Nour Odeh, a Palestinian
government spokeswoman in the West Bank, said the attack on the two
buildings "is an assault on the freedom of the press and an attempt to
prohibit journalists from conveying to the outside world what is exactly
happening in the Gaza strip and the extent to which Israel is violating
international law and international humanitarian law in this besieged
part of the occupied Palestinian territory."
Israeli troops mass on Gaza border
24 hours in Gaza
Blasts interrupt interview in Gaza
Map: Israel
In Israel, rocket
attacks from Gaza in recent days have killed at least three people and
wounded 68, including a number of soldiers along the Israel-Gaza border,
the Israel Defense Forces said.
"A short while ago, a
rocket fired from Gaza hit the Israeli town of Ofakim, directly hitting a
car," the IDF said Sunday on Twitter, adding that there were reports of
injuries.
One woman in the Israeli city of Ashkelon was in her home when a rocket hit her carport.
As clean-up crews worked to remove debris from around the house, another air siren sounded.
While many Israelis who
have lived under rocket attacks from Gaza for years developed a routine
for running to take cover, the latest violence is paralyzing.
A marina in Ashkelon,
which is usually busy with people enjoying the outdoors, has largely
emptied out as families keep their children indoors.
Leaders across the world
have called on Israeli and Palestinian governing bodies to show
restraint, fearing at a minimum a possible repeat of Israel's 2008
invasion that left at least 1,400 people dead.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, said discussions were underway about how to bring about a cease-fire.
"But there are no
guarantees at the moment," Morsy said Saturday in Cairo, where he met
with Hamas officials and other Arab diplomats.
Morsy did not go into
details of the effort, though an Egyptian military official told CNN the
nation's intelligence chief, Mohammed Shehata, was spearheading talks
with Hamas and Israel.
Shehata contacted Israel
and requested it "calm down" the situation, said the military official,
a general, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the subject matter.
It is not known what, if anything, Israel said in response to the request.
Hamas, however, put
conditions on cease-fire talks. Israel must cease its attacks and lift
its blockade of Gaza in exchange "for stopping the rockets" targeting
Israeli cities, according to a report by the Palestinian Information
Center, a Hamas-run media outlet.
Israel is unlikely to consider such a request as it sees the blockade as vital to its national security.
Palestinian lawmaker
Mustafa Barghouti told CNN Sunday that, "We are very worried about three
things: the Israeli preparation for a big ground operation, second that
Israel is bombarding journalists and trying to silence the media from
reporting what is happening in Gaza, and third the Israeli attacks on
the West Bank against non-violent protesters."
The Israeli government
has called up 75,000 reservists, while it simultaneously deployed 30,000
troops to the Gaza border, the IDF said.
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