Israeli warplanes hammered smuggling tunnels, a central prison, a university and a government compound Sunday in day two of its aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian death toll rose to more than 300, making this the bloodiest weekend in fighting between Israelis and Palestinians since the 1967 war – and there is no end in sight.
Israeli soldiers, tanks, and armoured personnel carriers began to mass around Gaza Sunday night. The Israeli cabinet approved calling up 6,500 reserve soldiers, but it remains unknown whether Israel will give a green light for a land invasion of Gaza.
Most of the casualties were members of Hamas security forces, but at least nine women and 28 children under the age of 16 were among the dead, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which has researchers at all hospitals. Across Gaza, dozens of Palestinian families set up mourning tents after burying their loved ones.
Israeli officials have said they will do “whatever it takes” for however long is needed to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets into Israel. A senior military official, who asked not to be named, said Israel would continue its military operation until “Hamas either runs out of will or out of capability to launch attacks.”
But breaking Hamas's will is unlikely. Hamas, the militant political organization that controls Gaza, warned that the third intifada (uprising) has now begun and that it may resume suicide bomb attacks. Its last such attack was almost four years ago. More than 20 rockets fell on Israel Sunday, after 130 were fired Saturday, killing one Israeli.
Palestinians demonstrated in West Bank cities and one man was killed when Israeli soldiers opened fire. Israeli Arabs also held demonstrations in Northern Israel, as did Arabs and others around the world. Syria ended its indirect peace negotiations with Israel.
The UN Security Council and European leaders called on both Israel and Hamas to stop attacks. But the United States stayed silent Sunday, after declaring on Saturday that Hamas was to blame for provoking Israel's strikes with daily barrages of rockets.
Israel continued to prevent foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, but information and images from inside Gaza emerged from local reporters.
Some of those Palestinian casualties died in hospitals, which were overwhelmed by more than 900 people seeking treatment and undersupplied with equipment.
According to Muawiya Hassanein, head of Emergency Services at Gaza's Ministry of Health, Gaza's largest hospital cannot wash linens or run its kitchen to feed patients because there is not enough electricity.
Israel has blocked almost everything from entering and exiting Gaza since Hamas took over Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in June of 2007. With rockets fired from Gaza almost daily, Israel tightened the blockade last month preventing most humanitarian aid from entering, although more than 100 trucks were allowed in just before the strikes began Saturday.
Now Israel appears focused on decimating Hamas's firepower and organizational abilities. In more than 300 air strikes since midday Saturday, Israel has destroyed not only Hamas's security offices and arsenals, but also 40 of the tunnels into Egypt. Those tunnels provided Gazans with some of the goods they cannot get due to the Israeli blockade. The tunnels also supply Hamas with the weapons they use to remain in power and attack Israel.
Israel is preparing its citizens for the Palestinians' angry response, ordering Israeli civilians in rocket-range of Gaza to stay indoors and avoid meeting in groups. Weddings and bar mitzvahs would have to be postponed. The town of Sderot near the frontier with Gaza is all but closed down and the security alert was raised across the country.
Special to The Globe and Mail
