18 Killed In Airstrikes Across Gaza
By Ma'an News
21 November, 2012
Maannews.net
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli airstrikes continued for an eighth day on Wednesday with 18 people reported killed, as efforts to reach a ceasefire continue to stall.
Shortly after a bomb exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv at midday, Israel intensified shelling across the Gaza Strip, after having hit over 100 sites across Gaza overnight, the army said.
Medics recovered three bodies from the rubble of Israeli airstrikes on al-Mughraqa, Gaza City, and one body from an airstrike on Jabiliya, Ma'an's reporter said.
The victims were identified as Ibrahim Muheisin in Jabalia, and Rami Ubeid, Saadi Abu Kamil and Mahmoud Abu Uteiwi in al-Mughraqa.
Earlier, a four-year-old child was killed in an attack on al-Nuseirat refugee camp and Abdul Rahman Naem, 2, was killed in an airstrike on Nima tower block in Gaza City, which houses the offices of Agence France-Presse.
A man and two children were killed in Beit Hanoun, one man was killed in al-Nuseirat and two others, including a 13-year-old child, died in Gaza City as Israel pounded the coastal enclave.
Two people were killed in an airstrike on a gas station in north Gaza, one in Gaza City and another man in Jabaliya.
An elderly man and his daughter were also killed in Khan Younis and two people killed in northern Gaza.
Also Wednesday, two men died from wounds sustained in attacks several days ago.
Muhammad Muhammad Bakr, 27, died from wounds sustained in an attack on Gaza City on Monday, while Ahmad Abu Eliyan, from Bani Suheila in southern Gaza, died from injuries sustained in a Sunday attack.
Ceasefire?
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to implement an Egyptian-brokered truce deal continued, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holding talks with leaders.
Clinton arrived in Ramallah early on Wednesday for talks with President Abbas. She then held a second meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before heading to Egypt, the main broker in efforts to end eight days of fighting and avert a possible Israeli ground offensive.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi to discuss a ceasefire that had reportedly been held up because the Israeli government had yet to respond to proposals.
"The Israeli side has not responded yet, so we will not hold a (news) conference this evening and must wait until tomorrow," Ezzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas leader, told Reuters on Tuesday.
"The truce is now held up because we are waiting for the Israeli side to respond," he added in a short telephone interview.
Israel's army spokesman Yoav Mordechai had earlier said that Israel would continue shelling Gaza alongside political dialogue, Israeli media reported.
Gaza live report: Day 8
19:26 Explosion heard in Gaza City.
19:16 Update: Five people found in al-Mughraqa rubble identified as: Muhammad Abu Uteiwi, Ahmad Abu Kamil, Mahmoud Abu Uteiwi, Nidal Hassan and Muhammad Abu Ubeid.
19:08 Two Palestinians killed in an airstrike on a motorcycle in Rafah.
19:02 Israeli sources tell Reuters that Israel has agreed to a truce in Gaza, but will not lift the blockade.
19:01 An Egyptian official says a formal announcement by Egypt about a ceasefire deal will be made shortly.
18:57 Egyptian television says news conference expected soon from presidency where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has held talks on a Gaza truce.
18:56 Update: Third man found found in al-Mughraqa rubble identified as Ahmad Abu Kamil.
18:53 A ceasefire has been agreed between Hamas and Israel, a Palestinian official with knowledge of the talks tells Reuters.
18:55 Update: Body found in Jabaliya rubble identified as Ibrahim Muheisin, 17th victim to be named Wednesday.
18:32 Update: Men pulled from al-Mughraqa rubble identified as Rami Ubeid and Mahmoud Abu Uteiwi.
18:18 Sky news reporter says Israeli intelligence believe Tel Aviv bus bomb carried out by lone operator, not directly connected to Palestinian groups.
18:00 UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon says there are "many details to work out" before a ceasefire can be reached to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
17:53 Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reports that Israel is preparing for a unilateral ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
17:52 Another body pulled from rubble in al-Mughraqa in Gaza City.
17:43 Medics recover body from rubble of earlier airstrike on Jabiliya.
17:29 Clashes reported at Huwara checkpoint south of Nablus.
17:20 Muhammad Bakr, 27, dies of wounds sustained two days ago in Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.
17:16 Three Israelis injured, one seriously, as missile fired from Gaza hits Eshkol.
17:02 Ilham Nabahin, 4, dies from injuries sustained in earlier Israeli airstrike on al-Nuseirat refugee camp, Ma'an reporter says. Her mother was injured in the attack.
17:00 Ma'an TV live feed with continuous updates from Gaza:
16:53 Israel's navy has started shelling the Gaza Strip, the BBC's Jon Donnison reports.
16:45 UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrives in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi.
16:15 New airstrikes reported in Gaza.
16:02 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoints Brigadier-General Eyal Zamir as his military secretary, Ynet reports. Zamir is replacing Major-General Yohanan Loker who ended his term two weeks ago.
15:47 Ma'an correspondent: Israeli soldiers and Palestinian youths are clashing at military checkpoint 300 in north Bethlehem.
15:30 Update: Child identified as Abdul Rahman Naem, 2-years-old. He was killed when an Israeli airstrike struck a residential tower block in Gaza City, Ma'an's reporter says.
15:22 Child reported killed in new Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, Ma'an reporter says.
15:15 White House condemns bus bombing in Israel.
"The United States will stand with our Israeli allies, and provide whatever assistance is necessary to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
14:58 Email from UN secretary-general's office: "The Secretary-General was shocked at the news of the terror attack on a bus today in the centre of Tel Aviv. He condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms. There are no circumstances that justify the targeting of civilians. The Secretary-General is saddened and expresses his sympathy to those injured in the blast."
14:57 Israeli military tweets that it targeted an "underground rocket launcher as well as 5 terror operatives preparing to launch rockets."
14:53 Update: Talal al-Asalai, his son Ayman and daughter Hadeel identified as victims of strike on Beit Hanoun.
Mubarak al-Ghoula killed in Nuseirat refugee camp.
14:48 Four killed in airstrikes on Beit Hanoun and Nuseirat refugee camp.
14:45 Update: Two killed in airstrike near al-Khanzandar gas station, identified as Mohammad al-Shqar, 22, and 13-year-old Mahmoud Abu Khusa.
14:33 One killed in airstrike near al-Khazandar gas station in west Gaza City.
14:22 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Egypt, an airport official said, where she is expected to hold talks with Egypt's president about a possible truce in Gaza.
14:14 Two Palestinians injured by live bullets in clashes with Israeli forces near Ofer military base in Ramallah.
14:13 BBC reporter Jon Donnison tweets a soundbite of Israeli attacks on Gaza City Sports Stadium while live on air.
13:55 Two injured in Israeli strikes on Yarmouk sports stadium in Gaza City; municipality building damaged.
13:50 The al-Qassam Brigades says it fired four grad missiles at Beersheba and two mortars at an Israeli intelligence site.
13:40 Al-Qassam Brigades: "We told you IDF that our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are. You opened the Gates of Hell on Yourselves."
13:39 A quarter of the adult fatalities in Gaza so far have been women, the Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling says.
13:30 Israel bombs Yarmouk stadium in Gaza City; multiple injuries reported.
13:25 German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Israel has right to self-defense.
13:20 Heavy shelling across Gaza Strip.
13:08 Israel raises security alert level around government compound near bus blast in Tel Aviv, Haaretz reports.
12:55 Two killed in airstrike on Khan Younis: Ibrahim Abu Nasr, 80, and his daughter Ameera. Grandson injured in attack.
12:53 Pope Benedict urges Israeli and Palestinian leaders to make "courageous decisions" to end the Gaza conflict, saying it risked spilling over into the rest of the Middle East.
12:53 Tel Aviv hospital director tells Israel army radio 17 injured in bus blast, reporter Rachel Shabi writes.
12:52 Man detained by police over Tel Aviv bombing is freed; no suspects in police custody.
12:50 Hamas broadcasts statements over mosque loudspeakers offering congratulations for the attack on a bus in Tel Aviv.
12:49 Forum of 9 ministers will convene in the Israeli prime minister's office at noon to discuss ceasefire efforts and bombing in Tel Aviv, Barak Ravid reports.
12:47 Israeli police have arrested a man suspected of planting bombs on a bus in Tel Aviv, according to Channel 10.
12:38 Channel 10: Two attackers carried out the attack on a bus in Tel Aviv.
12:35 Faris Sabtiye, 23, killed in Gaza City airstrike.
12:32 BBC reporter Jon Donnison tweets a soundbite of celebratory gunfire in Gaza.
12:31 Channel 10: Attacker planted bombs on Tel Aviv bus and fled; incident was not suicide attack.
12:24 There is another bomb still on the bus in Tel Aviv, Channel 10 reports.
12:21 Israeli army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich says bus exploded outside her office in Tel Aviv.
12:20 Reports of celebratory gunfire in Gaza over bus blast in Tel Aviv.
12:15 Israel police set up temporary checkpoint in Tel Aviv near site of bus explosion to try and catch accomplice to attacker, Channel 10 reports.
12:12 Update: 18 injured, three seriously, in explosion on Tel Aviv bus, Channel 10 reports.
12:11 Iran urges Arab nations to send military assistance to Palestine.
12:10 There has been an explosion on a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel's Channel 10 reports.
12:06 At a news conference in Ramallah, President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel is responsible for the war it began by assassinating Hamas military leader Ahmad al-Jaabari.
The president says if Israel stops attacking Gaza then Hamas will also stop its attacks.
11:58 UN chief Ban Ki-moon, in Ramallah, says he expressed concerns about situation in Gaza during meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ban confirms the importance of implementing the two-state solution and says negotiations must restart.
11:55 Sirens heard in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem.
11:54 President Mahmoud Abbas says he discussed ways to end the blockade on Gaza in meeting with UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
11:48 The al-Qassam Brigades says it fired seven Grad rockets at Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel.
11:45 An Israeli woman is lightly injured from shrapnel after a rocket attack in Beer Tuvia near Kiryat Malachi, Haaretz reports.
11:42 Ahmad Abu Eliyan, from Bani Suheila in southern Gaza, has died from injuries sustained in an attack Sunday raising the death toll in Gaza to 149.
11:38 Israeli military says it targeted 43 tunnels and an underground rocket launcher this morning. Israel's navy also targeted a "terror operative."
11:35 Israeli airstrikes destroy the central Gaza home of Issam Al-Dailies, personal adviser to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
11:15 Israeli settlers detained three people in Nablus and handed them to Israeli forces.
11:00 Israeli forces detained 28 Palestinians in overnight raids across the West Bank, an army spokeswoman says.
10:45 The Kerem Shalom crossing, the only freight crossing into the Gaza Strip, remains closed for the eighth day.
Palestinian crossings official Raed Fattouh told Ma'an that Israeli authorities said they shut Kerem Shalom for security reasons.
10:36 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hold a second meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak at Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem, Israeli media reports.
10:31 Israeli forces detained 18 Palestinians in raids on refugee camps and villages in Bethlehem overnight.
10:29 Rocket hits a home near Ashdod, according to Israeli media.
10:26 China will host an envoy of President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the crisis in Gaza, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding the government had been in touch with all players in the conflict to try and find a solution.
10:16 A Ma'an reporter has identified the man killed in Jabaliya strike as Abdullah Asaliyeh.
10:02 Israeli tanks fire at farm land in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
09:44 Update: Three injured in airstrike on Jabaliya that killed one Palestinian. The airstrike hit near Al-Shaee mosque.
09:37 Sirens heard in Ashdod in southern Israel.
09:25 Update: One person is reported dead from an Israeli strike on Jabaliya.
09:27 An Israeli drone hit a group of people in eastern Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.
09:15 Israel continues to bomb areas close to the border near Rafah in southern Gaza.
09:07 Rocket sirens heard in southern Israeli cities, Haaretz reports.
09:06 The al-Qassam Brigades says it fired three grad rockets at an Israeli air base and one rocket at Ashdod.
08:59 Palestinians are protesting the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Ramallah.
Palestinian Authority security forces are blocking protesters from approaching President Mahmoud Abbas' compound.
08:43 Israel has bombed another home in al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The house is on fire.
08:23 Israel's army spokesman Yoav Mordechai says Israel will continue shelling Gaza alongside political dialogue, Ynet reports.
"The IDF will proceed with the operation and the strikes today, at the same time that political dialogue is taking place," Mordechai said,
08:09 Two more fatalities have been identified from airstrikes on Rafah last night. Ibrahim Bin Hamad, 15, and 16-year-old Mahmoud al-Arja were killed and the Red Crescent did not reach them for four hours, a Ma'an reporter says.
07:50 Following incidents in which soldiers have been hurt by rockets, the Israeli army has decided to reduce the number of soldiers around Gaza who are not preparing for a possible ground invasion, Haaretz reports.
07:32 Seven Israeli airstrikes hit tunnels in Rafah causing multiple fires in the area.
07:13 Hamas deputy chief Mousa Abu Marzouk has denounced the killing of six men accused of collaborating with Israel and said suspected spies must be dealt with through the law.
Gunmen shot dead six alleged collaborators in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. In a post on his Facebook page, Abu Marzouk called for the those responsible for the killings to be held accountable and said such an incident must "never happen again."
07:20 Israeli forces hit over 100 sites across Gaza overnight, the army says.
07:10 Israel's army says it hit "dozens of terror infrastructure sites" overnight including the Ministry of Internal Security and a police compound."
Tunnels used to transport fuel were also hit, an army statement says.
07:00 Israeli warplanes destroy two homes belonging to Muhammad al-Hadidi and Muhammad al-Shafeiy in al-Nuseirat refugee camp. No injuries reported.
06:45 Israeli warplanes are bombing a road connecting al-Nuseirat refugee camp and al-Mughraka village.
06:42 Multiple airstrikes hitting southern Gaza.
06:04 The UN Security Council will hold an open debate on Gaza today if a ceasefire is not reached, The Associated Press reports.
05:57 Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin says if a ceasefire is not reached he may still put a resolution to a Security Council vote.
"I think we should have said something (on the conflict) a long time ago," Churkin said. "We will assess the situation (on Wednesday morning)."
05:41 Israel's army says 162 rockets hit Israel over the last 24 hours.
05:26 A security compound west of Rafah has been destroyed in an airstrike. The Abu Khadra government building was also hit by multiple airstrikes earlier this morning.
05:10 The police station in Khan Younis has been flattened and several nearby buildings sustained damage in an Israeli airstrike, a Ma'an reporter says.
04:52 Israel's army says two rockets fired from Gaza at densely populated areas have been intercepted by the Iron Dome defense shield since midnight.
04:16 Israeli warplanes bomb police station in Khan Younis.
04:08 Youssef Abdel Hamid gives a harrowing account of life as a paramedic in Gaza.
"Usually, we find the dead in fragments. We pick up a hand here, a leg there," he tells The Washington Post.
04:05 Israeli army says the airstrike on central Gaza City's Abu Khadra building targeted a "terror activity site."
03:47 Just published: A recap of Tuesday's clashes across the West Bank as two protesters are buried.
03:46 Press TV reports that its correspondent Akram al-Sattari has been injured in an Israeli airstrike that damaged a hotel hosting international journalists.
03:20 Silvan Shalom's Facebook page is no longer online, but his hacked Twitter account is still tweeting. The latest: "Benjamin Netanyahu is a Zionist murdering power crazed psychopath, supported by global psychopathic political elite."
02:39 Airstrikes targeted an area near two hotels housing reporters covering the Gaza assault. Reporter Hugh Naylor of The National newspaper tells Ma'an that the blasts blew out windows in the Deira and Beach hotels. There were no immediate reports of injury, and an Israeli army spokeswoman did not immediately return calls.
02:26 The al-Qassam Brigades have responded to a tweet by the Israeli army warning journalists to "Stay away from Hamas operatives & facilities."
02:10 Update: Anonymous has also hijacked the twitter account of the deputy Israeli premier.02:09 Al Jazeera reports that the UN Security Council will take no action tonight and will meet again tomorrow.
02:02 Hacker group Anonymous has hijacked the Facebook page of Israel's deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom.
Shalom's Facebook status updates now include: "People of the world are united against Oppression. You cannot silence our voice. Free Palestine."
01:55 The al-Qassam Brigades says it has fired five grad missiles at Ashdod in southern Israel.01:47 The Associated Press and Al Jazeera offices have been damaged in an Israeli strike on a media headquarters. One building is still on fire, AP reporter Sarah El Deeb tweets.
01:24 Another explosion reported in Gaza City.
01:03 Explosion reported in Gaza City.
00:56 The al-Qassam Brigades says it fired 224 projectiles at Israeli targets on Tuesday and has fired 1426 rockets since Wednesday.
00:45 Israeli news site Ynet confirms that Israeli TV channels 2 and 10 were interrupted several times on Tuesday evening by Hamas broadcasts.
Clips showed an Israeli tank being hit and warnings against an army invasion of the Gaza Strip, Ynet reports.
00:34 After hitting another media building, the Israeli army tweets a warning to reporters to "Stay away from Hamas operatives & facilities."
Three journalists were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday.
00:30 Israel's army says it has hit another media building. It says the building housed "a Hamas intelligence operations center."
00:22 Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades says it has interrupted Israeli broadcasts.
A video uploaded to YouTube claims to show the hijacking of Channel 10 with a message saying: "A message for the Zionist tank forces. Do you remember," and then the screen switches to Israel's Channel 2, which the brigades also claim to have hijacked.
00:20 The al-Qassam Brigades says it fired five missiles at Ofakim in southern Israel shortly before midnight.
00:19 The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Jund Ansar Allah Brigades say they fired three projectiles at Israel.
00:00 Israel's assault on Gaza has entered its eight day. Follow this live report for minute-by-minute updates of events as they happen.
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