Israel Takes Fight to Gaza

Police kill West Bank protester; Israel guns down three in other incidents

(NEWSER) - Massive crowds demonstrated in Gaza today, condemning the Annapolis conference and chanting "Death to America!" Hamas leaders told tens of thousands of supporters that the peace summit was "doomed to failure" and vowed that "whoever thinks we will recognize a Jewish state are deluding themselves." A smaller, West Bank protest was scuttled by police, who killed one, the BBC reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Israel dropped leaflets on the Gaza strip today warning inhabitants of an escalation in the 2-week offensive against Hamas militants, the BBC reports. The leaflets assured civilians that the action was against “Hamas and the terrorists only” and urged people to stay away from military targets. The development could signal a deeper incursion by Israeli ground forces into Gazan cities and refugee camps, the BBC notes. More»

Barak favors ultimatum

(AP) - Israel is considering halting its Gaza offensive temporarily to give Hamas militants an opening to halt rocket fire, an Israeli defense official said today, but with the threat of a ground offensive if a ceasefire does not hold. Ehud Barak will raise the proposal during a meeting tomorrow of Israel's security Cabinet, which will also be asked to consider various plans for a ground invasion, the defense official said. More»

Moratorium collapses

(NEWSER) - A week-long moratorium on rocket attacks in Israel exploded today when the militant group Islamic Jihad fired two rockets into the town of Sderot on the Gaza border. Nobody was injured in the attack. The radical Palestinian group claims its rocket launch was in retaliation for a raid by the Israelis in the West Bank yesterday, which claimed four lives, reports Haaretz. More»

It's a muddle of 'sub-leaderships,' says Economist

(NEWSER) - Reports of strife within the Palestinian faction Hamas are likely exaggerated, the Economist says. The Islamist party may be splitting under the pressure of sanctions, but reports are hard to judge because “few observers are neutral.” There are “sub-leaderships," though. After seizing Gaza in June, for example, Hamas' military wing clearly ran free of PM Ismail Haniyeh’s control. More»