The UN SecGen actually issued a statement calling for Hamas to stop rocketing Israel without calling for the reduction of violence “on both sides.” He does, of course, condemn the Gaza blockade.
The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about the situation in Gaza and southern Israel and the potential for further violence and civilian suffering if calm is not restored.
He condemns today’s rocket attacks on southern Israel and calls on Hamas to ensure that rocket attacks from Gaza cease immediately. He urges all parties to work to secure the immediate restoration of the calm and an urgent easing of humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, including the continuous provision of humanitarian supplies. He calls for respect by all parties of international humanitarian law.
Yeah, that last line is a laff-riot. Hamas, respect humanitarian law? By definition, they’re violating it every time they act.
Of course, during his press briefing, Ban Ki-Moon had more to say about Israel than Hamas, but hey—we’ll take it where we get it.
Meantime, Hamas went underground—like, all of Hamas, not just the leadership—waiting for the IDF. And we probably mean that literally. I suspect they’re in their ratholes and will be trying the Hezbullah tactics that they learned from Iran over the last two years.
Most Hamas gunmen in Gaza have gone into hiding on Wednesday for fear of a harsh Israeli response to the heavy rocket and mortar barrages emanating from the Strip, Ynet has learned.
You ask me, Israel should put a few hellfire missiles into the next Hamas rally, and take out the leadership with one shot. Collateral damage? Well, around the leaders are generally more “gunmen,” so all the collateral damage will be terrorists. But no, Israel always has to do it the hard way.
In the meantime, if you live within 15 miles of the Gaza Strip, you’re considered to be in the rocket zone.
The barrage of artillery fired at Israel from Gaza throughout Wednesday caused defense officials to order the activation of the Color Red alert system in all cities within a 30 km radius of the Strip, including Ashdod and Rahat.
“I never thought we’d come to this,” Yechiel Lasry, the mayor of Ashdod, told Ynet. “I thought the state would do something to stop the fire but that hasn’t been done. I don’t like the idea of activating the alert system in the city, but we need to be prepared.”
It wouldn’t have come to this, if Ehud Olmert wasn’t a corrupt politician who is more interested in his own enrichment and reputation than in the safety of his people. And Tzipi Livni? When she made the deal with Olmert and stopped calling for his resignation after the Winograd report, I lost all respect for her. She was bought and paid for.
Thank goodness new elections are around the corner.