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Gaza Nearing Humanitarian Crisis as Israeli Offensive Continues |
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Tuesday, 6 January 2009Humanitarian aid groups say Gaza is on the verge of a crisis as Israel's military offensive against Hamas enters its 11th straight day Tuesday.
Gaza health officials say more than 560 Palestinians have been killed and another 2,500 wounded during the large-scale operation. An official for the Geneva-based International Red Cross, Operations Director Pierre Kraehenbuehl, says the situation in Gaza has become a "full-blown" humanitarian crisis.
A Red Cross spokesman in Gaza says the situation is dire, with hospitals overwhelmed with civilian casualties.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus today, as part of his personal diplomatic tour of the region. The French president said his Syrian counterpart can play an important role in pressuring Hamas to end its rocket attacks on southern Israel.
But Mr. Assad denounced the Israeli offensive as "barbaric aggression."
Witnesses say Israeli forces have moved deeper into Gaza today, rolling into the southern city of Khan Younis. Sources say fighting has also intensified on the outskirts of Gaza City and around the northern refugee camp of Jabaliya.
Medical workers and United Nations officials say at least three Palestinians are dead after a U.N. school in Gaza was hit by an Israeli air strike.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Qin Gang, says Beijing will send $1 million worth of assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says an immediate cease-fire is possible if the tunnels used to ferry arms from Egypt into Gaza are cut off. Mr. Blair is the official envoy of the Quartet of Middle East peace brokers - consisting of the United States, the European Union, the U.N. and Russia.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the campaign in Gaza will continue until Israel achieved "peace and tranquility" for residents of southern Israel.
Hamas has continued to fire rockets into southern Israel throughout the campaign, killing four Israelis.
At least four Israeli soldiers have been killed by so-called "friendly fire" since the offensive began late Saturday. Three of them were killed and 24 others wounded when they were accidentally hit by an Israeli tank shell. The fourth solider - a paratroops officer - was killed in a separate incident in northern Gaza.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Tuesday, 6 January 2009
VOA News
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