No End To Gaza Strikes Despite Civilian Deaths
Sun Herald
Sunday June 25, 2006
PALESTINIAN militants fired three homemade rockets into Israel soon after the Israeli Prime Minister pledged to continue with air strikes in the densely populated Gaza Strip, despite a series of civilian casualties.
The Israeli army said there were no injuries or damage in yesterday's attack, which prompted one lawmaker to call for the army to launch a military offensive against the militants.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologised twice last week for civilian deaths, including children, in recent air strikes in the Gaza Strip. But he added: "Israel will continue to carry out targeted attacks against terrorists and those who try to harm Israeli citizens."Despite repeated air strikes and artillery fire by the Israeli army, Palestinian militants have fired rockets toward Israel almost daily since the Jewish state completed its withdrawal from Gaza last September. The air strikes have killed dozens of militants, while three air force raids have killed 13 civilians, drawing international condemnation.Senior military officers said they were prepared to send troops back into Gaza, but only as a last resort.Israeli MPs, meanwhile, debated whether the army was dealing properly with the constant threat of Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza.Yuval Steinitz, former chairman of the Israeli parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, accused Palestinian authorities of failing to prevent rocket fire. "I call on the Government of Israel to wait no further, but to launch a comprehensive ground operation in Gaza for several weeks, to strike at the very foundations of the terrorist infrastructure," the politician, from the hard-line Likud Party, told Israel Radio. But Haim Ramon, a cabinet minister in the ruling Kadima Party, warned such an offensive could cost many lives on both sides.The increased tension comes as an informal meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was held in Jordan, the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in more than a year.
© 2006 Sun Herald