60 Strikes Pound Gaza Overnight

Death toll reaches 898 as new humanitarian supplies arrive

(NEWSER) - For the fifth day Israel has paused in its onslaught of Gaza to allow residents to retrieve food and supplies, CNN reports. Israel allowed 160 trucks through two border crossings but said it would resume attacks after three hours. Although one Israeli official suggested that the operation may soon conclude, warplanes bombarded Gaza once again last night. Palestinian sources now put the death toll at 898. More»

Civilians pay the price of 'asymetrical urban warfare'

(NEWSER) - The disturbing civilian death toll in Gaza is a result of new tactics being deployed by Hamas, Steven Erlanger writes in the New York Times. Hamas militants, trained by Hezbollah and Iran, are said to be systematically hiding weapons in schoolyards, mosques and hospitals, fighting in civilian clothes, using tunnels to disappear, and setting up elaborate booby traps. And for its part, Israel is countering with trickery of its own, including officers pretending to be sympathetic Arabs calling Gazans to weasel out local intelligence. More»

Party shares blame with Israel for sky-high unemployment

(NEWSER) - As joblessness mounts in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, more and more residents are blaming the ruling Hamas party for their woes, GlobalPost reports. Although Gaza has one of the fastest population growth rates on earth, 45% of people have no job and 85% depend on aid to get by. And while Palestinians largely blame Israel’s stifling economic blockade, they are increasingly turning their ire on Hamas, too. More»

(NEWSER) - Explosives-laden horses were part of an attempt today by Palestinian militants to plant bombs in Israel, the BBC reports. Israel says it shot and killed four men—who where wearing explosive vests—and their explosive-laden horses after they first fired on a border post. The Israeli response to the men and their horses was carried out with machine guns, tanks, and helicopters. More»

Officials say civilian deaths isolated, unintentional

(NEWSER) - An Israel Defense Forces probe has found that no Gaza civilians were intentionally harmed in Israel’s recent incursion into the region, Haaretz reports. IDF colonels who weren’t involved in the fighting found that the IDF “adhered to international law and maintained a high level of professionalism and morality.” Civilian deaths, they determined, were isolated and unintentional. More»