Israeli troops are pushing deeper towards Gaza’s towns and cities as thousands of Israeli reservists enter the conflict for the first time. Israeli warplanes continue to bombard targets across northern Gaza and in the town of Rafah on the southern border with Egypt. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets into southern Israel.

The Israeli military is continuing to surround Gaza City and many residents in the outlying suburbs are moving into the city center. A Palestinian human rights group told the Guardian newspaper that up to 90,000 Gazans, more than half of them children, had fled their homes across the territory. Israel and Egypt have refused to open their borders to allow Gazans to flee the fighting.

The death toll now stands at nearly 900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, including 275 children. Another 4,100 Palestinians have been injured. 13 Israelis have been killed, including three civilians hit by rocket fire and 10 soldiers.

Aid agencies are warning of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza with the territory’s 1.5 million residents in urgent need of food and medical aid. The BBC reports the main hospital in Gaza is close to collapse with patients reportedly dying because of a lack of specialist doctors and basic medical equipment.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said the offensive was nearing its goals but that the assault would continue. Olmert also spoke out in defiance of the U.N. Security Council"s call for an immediate ceasefire saying, “nobody should be allowed to decide for us if we are allowed to strike”. Both Hamas and Israel have rejected the UN resolution. Meanwhile talks between Hamas and Egyptian officials are continuing in Cairo.

We turn now to a debate on the issue. Attorney Lanny Davis is a Senior Advisor and Spokesperson for The Israel Project. He is the former special counsel to President Clinton. He joins us from Washington DC. Joining us on the telephone from Beersheba, Israel is Neve Gordon. He is chair of the Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is author of “Israel’s Occupation”.

Lanny Davis, Senior Advisor and Spokesperson for The Israel Project. He is an attorney and the former special counsel to President Clinton.

Neve Gordon, chair of the Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and the author of "Israel"s Occupation".

Related Links

• "Israel's New War Ethic" by Neve Gordon
• The Israel Project

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• Israeli Professor Under Hamas Rocket Fire, Neve Gordon Condemns Israeli Invasion of Gaza (1/5/2009)

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