12/27/08 Palestine Watch: Gaza Massacre! Latest News on Israeli war planes attacks Gaza Strip

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12/27 CALL TO ACTION! by Activist Across the Country to Protest Against Israeli Attacks on Gaza!  >>Read More

Call to protest at your local city: Sunday 12/28 noon or Monday 12/29 noon at your nearest Israeli Consulate. Please send us your protest information to: info@ActionLA.org This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Video 12/27: Israel launches missile attacks on Gaza (Al-Jazeera) at ActivistVideo.org View: http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=521

A Palestinian carries a wounded child after Israeli missile strikes in Gaza City


Israeli war planes and combat helicopters have pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, killing at least 205 people and prompting rocket fire from Palestinian militants that killed an Israeli.

U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called for an immediate halt to the violence in Gaza and southern Israel, condemning excessive use of force leading to civilian casualties and ongoing rocket attacks by militants >> Read More

12/27: Media Release, International Response and Analysis on the Latest Israeli Attacks on Gaza

[International Solidarity Movement] Human Rights Defenders speak from Gaza as Israel kills over 200 people.

[The Electronic Intifada] Gaza massacres must spur us to action
A short time earlier, US-supplied Israeli F-16 warplanes and Apache helicopters dropped over 100 bombs on dozens of locations in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip killing at least 195 persons and injuring hundreds more. Many of these locations were police stations located, like police stations the world over, in the middle of civilian areas. The US government was one of the first to offer its support for Israel's attacks, and others will follow >> Read More

Hundreds of Palestinians killed as Israeli war planes pound Gaza Strip

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:56 PM on 27th December 2008

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1102033/Hundreds-Palestinians-killed-Israeli-war-planes-pound-Gaza-Strip.html

Israeli war planes and combat helicopters have pounded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, killing at least 205 people and prompting rocket fire from Palestinian militants that killed an Israeli.

The dead and wounded lay scattered on the ground following the Israeli attacks, which destroyed several Hamas police compounds in the bloodiest day for Palestinians in more than 20 years. Distraught rescuers cried out as they tried to find those still alive and black smoke billowed over Gaza city.

The Israeli military said it had targeted 'terrorist infrastructure' and pledged more strikes if necessary, possibly targeting leaders of the Hamas Islamist militant group.

A Palestinian carries a wounded child after Israeli missile strikes in Gaza City

Hamas threatened to unleash 'hell' to avenge the dead, including possible suicide bombings, and militants fired rockets into southern Israel soon after the Israeli strikes. Medics said one Israeli was killed and two were moderately wounded.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned as 'criminal' the Israeli air campaign and called for the international community to intervene.

Hospital officials in Gaza City said more than 120 people had been killed there, including 40 at a police headquarters where Hamas was hosting a graduation ceremony for new recruits. Among those killed was police chief Tawfiq Jabber.

Mourners watch over the bodies of Palestinians at Shifa hospital in Gaza City

Another 23 Palestinians were killed in air strikes in Khan Younis and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, medical officials said. At one site, there was a huge crater in the ground.

Uniformed bodies lay in a pile and the wounded writhed in pain, television pictures showed. Rescuers carried those showing signs of life to cars and ambulances, while others tried to revive the unconscious.

An Israeli army spokesman said the air force had conducted 'a massive operation' against 'terrorist infrastructure' following the collapse of a six-month-old, Egyptian-brokered ceasefire just over a week ago.

Palestinians carry a body from the rubble following the missile strike

Gaza militants have fired dozens of makeshift rockets at southern Israel in recent days. The rockets cause damage but few injuries.

Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida threatened to unleash 'hell' on Israel, saying the Islamist group would 'teach the enemy a lesson they will never forget.' Hamas said it was considering a new suicide bombing campaign.

An aide to Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was prepared to step up its assault 'as required'.

Palestinian firefighters try to assist at the site of a security compound used by the Islamic group Hamas

A five-day Israeli offensive in March killed more than 120 people, but Saturday's death toll would be the highest for Palestinians since their 1980s uprising.

Witnesses said the attacks were carried out by warplanes and combat helicopters. They also reported seeing Israeli planes bombing sites along Gaza's border with Egypt.

Palestinians use hundreds of tunnels under the border to bring in everything from goods to weapons, making them prime Israeli targets.

 
Smoke and fire are seen after the Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip

The air strikes followed a decision by Israeli Prime Minister Edud Olmert's security cabinet to widen reprisals for cross-border Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. Olmert had warned Hamas, which seized control of the coastal enclave in June 2007, to stop firing rockets or pay a heavy price.

'I will not hesitate to use Israel's might to strike Hamas and (Islamic) Jihad,' he told Al Arabiya television, an Arab broadcaster widely watched in Gaza.

A map locating the Gaza Strip