Arab Silence Ignites Gaza Genocide
Ahmadinejad Demands Emergency Action
Presiden Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned the Israeli genocide in Gaza Strip and demanded emergency action to stop the crimes of the Zionist regime.
Ahmadinejad made the remarks in separate telephone conversations with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on Saturday, President.ir reported.
Israeli warplanes have carried out a massive air strike on Hamas security compounds inside the Gaza Strip, killing at least 190 and wounding over 800 others.
Inside one Gaza hospital, doctors appeared overwhelmed; the floors were covered with wounded men and some children.
Hamas radio reported that Gaza police chief Tawfiq Jabber was among the dead.
Israel F16 bombers and apache helicopters carried out at least 30 simultaneous raids on at least 30 separate targets in Gaza City.
Israeli tanks are said to be moving closer to the impoverished region that has been under a strict Israeli-imposed blockade. Israeli authorities have announced that they would continue the attacks.
The attacks come soon after Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni threatened Hamas while speaking with Egyptian counterpart.
"This is only just the beginning of an operation launched after a security Cabinet decision. It could take time. We have not fixed a timeline and we will act according to the situation on the ground," Israeli Military Spokesman Avi Benayahu told army radio on Saturday.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Israeli aircraft attacked "a series of Hamas targets and infrastructure facilities".
The IDF said the targets "include Hamas operatives that operated from the organization’s headquarters, training camps and weaponry storage warehouses". The reporter, who is not being named for safety reasons, said the attacks were the biggest he had seen in his decades in Gaza.
Hamas Revenge
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have ordered their troops to avenge the attack.
A statement from Islamic Jihad said, all fighters are ordered to respond to the Israeli slaughter.
The Palestinian chief negotiator Hanan Ashwari told Sky News, There is tremendous public outrage - this is a massive cold-blooded act, it has to stop immediately.
Hamas deputy chairman Mousa Abu Marzook told Sky News: We act against Israeli aggression. The Israelis hit some people and we react against them with rockets.
A Hamas spokesman said Israel will pay a heavy price for the attacks.
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum told Press TV correspondent that Tel Aviv carried out the strikes after receiving green light from its allies and certain regional countries. Barhoum described the raids as collective punishment of Palestinians.
Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas in West Bank said in a statement that he condemns this aggression, according to an aide, Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
A tenuous six-month truce between the Hamas government in Gaza and Israel expired a week ago. Under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Hamas agreed to end militant attacks on Israel from Gaza, and Israel agreed to halt raids inside the territory and ease its blockade on humanitarian goods.
UN declared that Israeli blockade over Gaza is crime against humanity.
United Nations aid agency said on Thursday it had run out of flour and would suspend food deliveries to 750,000 Palestinians in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after Israel closed border crossings.
The United Nations and human rights groups have voiced concern about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and called on Israel to lift its blockade.
Arab Reaction
Jordan on Saturday called for a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting to discuss Israeli strikes against the Gaza Strip.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Slahiddin Al Bashir made a phone call to his Libyan counterpart Abdul Rahman Shalqam, as the North African country is currently the Arab member in the UN Security Council, said the Foreign Ministry.
Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation after Israeli strikes killed at least 180 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa said.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has described the Israeli attacks as a criminal operation and new massacres to be added to its full record of massacres.
In the country’s south, dozens of Palestinian youths hit the streets in Ain Al-Hilweh refugee camp to express solidarity with Gaza and set fire to tires.
Larger demonstrations were planned later in the day in the camp and in the capital Beirut itself.
other links:
Three Israelis Killed in Palestinian Rocket Attacks
Public Support for Gaza
