Israel Commits Worst Airstrike So Far As Efforts for a Ceasefire Ramp Up

AP
Connor Simpson 4,233 Views Nov 18, 2012

The fighting between Israel and Hamas continued Sunday night with rocket attacks on both sides, while in the background the efforts to work out a ceasefire have begun to ramp up. 

The single ugliest attack so far occurred Sunday morning. "We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations. and the Israel Defense Forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation," Netanyahu said Sunday morning. Israel expanded its targets on Saturday to include government infrastructure, like the Prime Minister's house, and on Sunday they expanded their targets again to include the homes of suspected militants. An Israeli airstrike leveled a two story house and killed eleven people, including an 80-year-old woman and four children. 

Reporters embedded in Gaza became part of their own story on Sunday when Israeli airstrikes targeted two of the buildings they're working in. Israel defended their actions by accusing Hamas of using the journalists as human shields to protect the communications satellites that are on the top of the buildings. That's what they were aiming for, according to Israel.

The Iron Dome defense system deployed in Tel Aviv has also been active. It's intercepted at least three rockets from striking Tel Aviv over the last twenty four hours. In all since the conflict began, Iron Dome has intercepted almost 250 rockets from striking Israel's major cities. 

A delegation of Arab League officials are heading to Gaza to show their support for the Palestinians who have come under attack, and are supporting the Egypt-led peace talks. Their presence in Gaza should put pressure on Netanyahu to get a ceasefire deal done. Should one of his air raids or missile attacks kill an Arab League foreign minister, the repercussions on Israel would be huge. 

The efforts to actually work out a deal are at least in motion. Netanyahu is facing an increasing amount of pressure internationally to end the latest conflict. Obama stressed that he supported Israel's right to defend itself, but that he hoped a ground operation could be avoided. He also. "We're going to have to see what kind of progress we can make in the next 24, 36, 48 hours," Obama said. At one point the Israeli ambassador to the U.S. sent out a tweet saying they'd be willing to sit down with Hamas to work on a peace deal, but then he deleted it. Egyptian security officials have reported Israel has an official in Cairo on Sunday to sit down and work out a ceasefire deal with Hamas, though. 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson at gmail dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

Related Articles   More by Connor Simpson
Fire engulf the Yarmouk ammunition factory in Khartoum October 24, 2012. A huge fire broke out after a loud explosion on Tuesday night at the arms factory in Sudan's capital Khartoum, a Reuters witness said.

Sudan Claims Israel Bombed Its Ammunition Factory

The Tie That Still Binds Israel and Turkey: Trade

Gaza, Nudists, and a Hero Dog

 

Tesla Is First Green Tech Company to Pay Back Its Department of Energy Loan

The Gruesome Details of London's Horrifying Machete Attack

Elsewhere on the Web

User Comments

Please type your comment and click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be prompted to log in or register

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App