New Israeli air strike kills 12-year-old in Gaza, death toll reaches 17

[oberliner]

A fresh Israeli air raid on Gaza early Sunday killed a 12-year-old, bringing the death toll from strikes since Friday to 17 and dashing Hamas hopes of restoring a tacit truce.

The killing of the leader of the ultra-hardline Popular Resistance Comittees and a slew of other militants in Israeli raids on Friday unleashed a spiral of tit-for-tat violence on the Israel-Gaza border that has made for the highest death toll in more than three years.

The European Union and the United States urged both sides to restore calm but Palestinian militants vowed to avenge their dead and Israel threatened to hit back if its citizens came under renewed rocket attacks from the coastal enclave.

Militants have fired some 100 rockets into the Jewish state since Friday.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/03/11/199919.html

[azurnoir]

1. IMO if I was a civilian on either side

I'd be PO'ed at all the players all around because we've seen this scenario repeat so many times its become predictable

[shira]

2. So what should Israel do in response to terror attacks/rockets?

Be specific.

OCL II could start soon. Maybe the handwringing Left as well as the UN should be telling Hamas to stop. Maybe they should have started this last year when over 600 rockets/mortars were fired from Gaza.

[azurnoir]

3. have the news articles said that Hamas is responsible for the rockets?

cause I could swear I've been reading Islamic Jihad but hey what the their all Arab Muslim men over the age of 10 right? dime a dozen

however it seems rather curious to say the least IDF does a targeted assassination to ostensibly avert a terror attack and now we're supposed to shocked that even more terror has been created?

seems rather useless to me

[shira]

4. Al Aqsa Brigades is part of Hamas...

Are you saying Hamas is so incompetent that they neither can control their own forces or Islamic Jihad, etc.? Where do you see the Hamas mafia bosses calling for a cessation of rocket activity? Right, you don't. So of course you blather on about Hamas not being responsible. The old Arafat shell game.

And you didn't answer my question.

What a surprise! I'll assume, since you've been asked this no less than a couple dozen times here at DU, that you believe Israel has no right to defend itself. You condemn anything they do w/o so much as offering an effective, more humane response to those rockets.

[azurnoir]

5. oh but shira we all know that the Palestinians are the ones

with no right to self defense isn't that true well at least according to you anyway, however IMO what is happening right illustrates the need for Palestinians to be able to defend themselves in this case against militants

as to IDF's actions and the results I'd say it was a spectacular failure as only more terror was created

[shira]

7. You're slipping. So now rockets shot at civilians from Gaza is self-defense?

And again you didn't answer the question. What can Israel do WRT rocket or terror attacks? Anything?



***I was wrong in my last post. Al Aqsa Brigades is not part of Hamas. I was thinking of Al-Qassam Brigades, which is. And they are a part of the rocket assault on Israel.

Lastly, you blew it in your last post and can't even admit you were wrong about Hamas being responsible. Even if Qassam Brigades were not involved, Hamas is doing absolutely nothing to stop the rocket launchers. Guess you need a new excuse. How many times now have you made up crap to demonize Israel while never holding Hamas or the PLO responsible for anything? I've lost track...

[azurnoir]

6. as to your comments about Hamas not calling for a truce

here

Report: Hamas, Islamic Jihad chiefs committed to Gaza cease-fire

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken by telephone with Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Meshal and Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ramadan Salah about the recent escalation in the Gaza Strip, and both of those leaders said that they are committed to a cease-fire, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported.

Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Othman told Ma'an on Sunday that Egypt is in "a race against time in order to halt hostilities" in Gaza.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-hamas-islamic-jihad-chiefs-committed-to-gaza-cease-fire-1.417822


Haniyeh: Factions respond positively to Egypt truce efforts

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday that Palestinian factions in the coastal strip had responded positively to his contacts with Egypt to halt escalating violence between Gaza and Israel.

Egypt is "working around the clock" to halt the fighting, Haniyeh said.

Israeli airstrikes have killed 18 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since Friday, including a 12-year-old boy. Militant groups allied to factions other than Hamas have fired dozens of rockets into southern Israel, injuring four Israelis.

The Gaza premier said the factions position is "positive and responsible" after he made contact with Egypt to end the fighting.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=467032

[shira]

8. Yeah, right. All that's necessary is for Hamas to stop the rockets...

They know Israel will stop as a result. All they need to do is tell Egypt and Egypt will relay the message to Israel. Escalation finished.

And no more staking out IDF border patrols in hopes of carrying out more terror attacks.

Yes, I know. Unless you get 110% proof from the IDF, you'll assume Hamas and Islamic Jihad are being good little boys and that Israel is just looking to pick a fight.

[azurnoir]

9. shira this part of your comment borders on ludicrous

"Yes, I know. Unless you get 110% proof from the IDF, you'll assume Hamas and Islamic Jihad are being good little boys and that Israel is just looking to pick a fight.

nothing I've said here should indicate that what I said was that both sides were being stupid

[shira]

10. If it's ludicrous, then answer my question...

If you think both sides were being stupid, what could Israel have done that would be effective and humane?

Waiting...

[azurnoir]

11. supposedly Israel had all kinds of intel on the terror attack that prompted

the targeted assassination, right?

why then could the attack not have been averted when it was attempted rather than some preemptive strike, that anyone who has been watching should know would get the response from militants that it did

[shira]

12. Unheard of. Who allows a big terror attack to be attempted rather than apprehending...

...or killing the perpetrator(s)? That's like US authorities knowing in advance about 911 but waiting until after the planes are hijacked and headed in different directions before acting on it and enraging America's enemies.

Ridiculous.

So why should Israel risk that?

Moreover, how does Israel know when the attack will occur, and exactly where and how? What if Israel knows every little detail in advance (big assumption there) but then the terror cell changes just a few things at the last moment (time/location) and is able to kill/maim dozens or hundreds of Israelis?

I'd imagine if the USA did that WRT 911, you'd want the book thrown at all US authorities involved.

[azurnoir]

13. so the results of the assassination are better than what maybe might have been?

and if Israel knows that the attack will occur but it does not know when then isn't that what troops are put on high alert for?

You make all kinds of assumptions about exactly what the Palestinians were planning now can you post those details other than supposedly it was to come from Sinai, making it also that the Egyptian authorities should have been alerted too

so your saying that 'if' the US had known about the 9/11 attacks the US should have assassinated those planning it, that would have taken care of the problem, none would have stepped up to the plate to replace them,something that could happen with the Gaza incident too?

no IMO the US should have increased airport and airline security-greatly increased