Gaza War (2008–2009)

Operation Cast Lead
Part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Area of the conflict
Date December 27, 2008–present Location Gaza Strip & Southern Israel Result Conflict ongoing
Belligerents
Israel (IDF)	Hamas Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Commanders and leaders
Ehud Barak (DefMin) Gabi Ashkenazi (CoS) Ido Nehoshtan (IAF) Eli Marom (ISC) Yoav Galant (SoCom) Yair Golan (HFC)	Ismail Haniyeh Mahmoud az-Zahar Ahmed al-Ja'abari
Strength
176,500 troops (total) 80+ fighter aircraft & helicopters (used from December 27 onwards)	20,000 militants (total)
Casualties and losses
1 soldier and 3 civilians killed and 31 wounded (from December 27 and onwards)	UN sources: over 350 killed (at least 62 women and children), about 1,400 wounded Palestinian sources: 375 killed, about 1,450 wounded
1 Egyptian border guard killed

The December 2008 Gaza Strip airstrikes, codenamed Operation Cast Lead (Hebrew: מבצע עופרת יצוקה) by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in reference to an Israeli Hanukah song, is an Israeli airstrike operation launched on December 27, 2008 at 11:30 am local time (9:30 am UTC) against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, as a response to frequent Palestinian Qassam rocket and mortar fire on Israel's southern civilian communities.

F-16 jet fighters and Apache helicopters participated in the aerial attack, with ground units standing by. By the first evening, the Israeli Air Force deployed approximately 100 tonnes (110 short tons) of explosives, with an estimated 95 percent reaching their targets, according to IAF sources. According to Israeli sources, Israel bombed roughly 100 Hamas-operated security installations (including police stations, prisons, and command centers) in four minutes during the first wave of the strike. Israel hit Hamas operated security installations in all Gaza's main towns, including Gaza City and Beit Hanoun in the north and Khan Younis and Rafah in the south. On December 28, the Israeli Air Force destroyed the Al Aqsa TV station used by Hamas and on December 29 it bombed a laboratory building at the Islamic University of Gaza which according to Israeli sources was used for development of Hamas rockets and explosives under academic auspices; the university is also claimed to have hosted meetings of Hamas military officials. Most of the deaths have been members of the Hamas' security forces. At least 62 women and children have also been killed. The United Nations has reported at least 350 Palestinians had been killed and 1,400 injured in the first two days of strikes.

The operation had been reportedly in the planning for over six months, according to an Israeli official, and aimed "to neutralise the Hamas militiamen" and destroy the infrastructure of power and governance that Hamas had been building since winning the Palestinian elections. The attacks have attracted both support and criticism.

As of December 30, both Israel and Hamas are under pressure for Gaza aid truce, while Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that Hamas' exiled political leader Khaled Meshal had changed his earlier calls for ending the lull and started calling for a truce. Israel has said its military action could last weeks, while Israeli leader Ehud Barak stated that this will be a "war to the bitter end" Hamas officials also dismissed the cease-fire idea. Rockets on Tuesday touched down in Beersheba, a city in the Negev desert some 40 km (25 miles) from Gaza, striking an evacuated kindergarten, marking the furthest strike yet.

Background

Main articles: 2007–2008 Israel-Gaza conflict and Blockade of the Gaza Strip

See also: List of Qassam rocket attacks and List of Qassam rocket attacks in Israel in 2008

On June 19, 2008, a six-month Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement was signed between Hamas and Israel.The first violation of the agreement occurred on June 23, 2008 when one mortar shell was fired from Gaza. The following day three Qassam rockets were fired into Sderot, causing two minor injuries. The attacks, however, came from Islamic Jihad, an organization independent of Hamas, and Hamas subsequently pressured the group into abiding by the ceasefire. Following this, violations of the cease-fire agreement were made by both sides, with the most serious violation occuring on November 5, 2008 when Israel carried out a raid into the Gaza Strip in which troops killed six Hamas militants. According to Human Rights Watch, Israel was still considered an occupying power in the Gaza Strip under international law due to the effects of its blockade.

On December 13, 2008, Israel announced that it was in favor of extending the cease-fire, provided Hamas adhered to its conditions. Having previously asserted that an end to the truce would carry huge popular support and that there are daily Israeli attacks, on 20 December Hamas officially announced that they would not be extending the cease-fire. Citing Israeli border closures as the primary reason, Hamas then resumed its shelling of the western Negev. Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza. Israel said it initially began easing the blockade, but this was halted when Hamas failed to fulfill the agreed conditions, including ending all rocket fire and halting weapons smuggling.

The New York Times summed up the situation leading to the complete breakdown of the cease-fire and the dramatic increase in hostilities thusly:

Opening the routes to commerce was Hamas’s main goal in its cease-fire with Israel, just as ending the rocket fire was Israel’s central aim. But while rocket fire did go down drastically in the fall to 15 to 20 a month from hundreds a month, Israel said it would not permit trade to begin again because the rocket fire had not completely stopped and because Hamas continued to smuggle weapons from Egypt through desert tunnels. Hamas said this was a violation of the agreement, a sign of Israel’s real intentions and cause for further rocket fire. On Wednesday [12/24/08], some 70 rockets hit Israel over 24 hours, in a distinct increase in intensity.

On December 23, 2008, the IDF killed three Palestinian militants who were planting explosives on the Gaza border. Israel was also reluctant to open the border crossings, which had been closed since November. On December 24, the Negev was hit by more than 60 mortar shells and Katyusha and Qassam rockets, and the IDF was given a green light to operate.

On December 26, 2008, Israel reopened five crossings between Israel and Gaza for humanitarian supplies. Fuel was allowed in for Gaza’s main power plant and about 100 trucks loaded with grain, humanitarian aid and other goods were expected during the day. Israel also reopened border crossings and announced that it would continue deliberations on what course of action to take on December 28. Rocket attacks continued — about a dozen rockets and mortar bombs were fired from Gaza into Israel, one accidentally striking a northern Gaza house and killing two Palestinian sisters, aged five and thirteen, while wounding a third. According to Israeli defense officials, the subsequent Israeli offensive was designed to take Hamas by surprise, thereby increasing their casualties.

Possible political motivations

News media have also linked the attacks on Gaza to the upcoming Israeli elections, where opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has been leading in the polls. According to Reuters, senior Israeli officials insisted the timing of the airstrikes had to do with Israel's coming election rather than any perceived lost opportunity with President George W. Bush's leaving office. "Why should everything be connected to the United States? A far more important date for Israel is February 10. There are elections in Israel," said one of the officials. "It wasn't politically sustainable for leaders in Israel to idly stand by and let Hamas continue shooting." Another Israeli official said Israel could count on the Bush administration to help buy the military more time if the Gaza operation dragged on and international pressure grew for a ceasefire.

Planning

Planning for the operation itself began more than six months before it was finally implemented, and included a large intelligence gathering operation by Aman and the Shin Bet to map out Hamas security targets. According to Haaretz, sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the IDF to prepare for the operation over six months ago. This intelligence-gathering effort brought back information about Hamas' security infrastructure, permanent bases, weapon silos, training camps, the homes of senior officials and coordinates for other facilities.

It reached Defense Minister Ehud Barak's desk for approval on 19 November, though it was not until 18 December that he and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met to approve it; the plan was subsequently delayed in order to see how Hamas would react after the cease-fire's expiration. On 24 December the Israeli cabinet met to talk about the proposed operation, and approved it unanimously after a five-hour meeting. Egyptian Foreign Minister Abou el Gheit said that Egypt didn't have prior knowledge of the date of the attack. A final meeting of defense and intelligence chiefs took place on the morning of 26 December, followed by a meeting between Olmert, Livni, and Barak. They gave the final orders for the operation to the Israeli Air Force, and that night into the morning of 27 December, various Israeli political leaders were told of the decision.

Launched during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, the operation was named after a line in the children's Hanukkah song "In Honor of Hanukkah" (Hebrew: לכבוד החנוכה) by Hayyim Nahman Bialik in which a dreidel made of "cast lead" is mentioned.

Public relations campaign and media coverage

Haaretz reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni "instructed senior ministry officials to open an aggressive and diplomatic international public relations campaign in order to gain support for Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip." The campaign includes Ministry officials at Israeli embassies and consulates around the world mounting public relations campaigns that focus on local media and governmental officials, contacts by Livni with foreign officials in Israel, recruitment of people who speak Arabic, Italian, Spanish and German, and the opening of an international media centre in Sderot, to which "foreign media and diplomatic figures" will be invited. Livni will also hold a series of talks with foreign officials, "in which she will attempt to explain the rationale for the expanded IDF operations in the Gaza Strip."

Livni said Israel "expects the support and understanding of the international community, as it confronts terror, and advances the interest of all those who wish the forces of peace and co existence to determine the agenda of this region." Hamas has termed the attacks on Palestinians in Gaza as the "Massacre of the Black Saturday".

Deputy Foreign Minister Majallie Whbee on Sunday criticised international media outlets who were not giving sufficient voice to Israel's take on the fighting in Gaza.

"Some of the foreign media are not getting the Israeli side into their reporting," Whbee told The Jerusalem Post. This means the international media have often failed to report on the pervasive Kassam attacks that preceded the [current] violence, he said. "Instead of showing who these terrorists [Hamas] are and how Israeli children are hiding in bomb shelters afraid to leave," the media outlets are showing Hamas's side of the conflict, he said.

Arab citizens have directed their anger at Israel and at the Arab governments' perceived silence and tacit support of the Israeli action. The Los Angeles Times reports that "Pan-Arab satellite channels broadcast nearly nonstop images of bloodied Palestinian bodies, ambulances screaming and women wailing in hospital corridors. Interviews with enraged men and women from Yemen to Morocco condemned the air attacks, which came three days after militants in Gaza launched an estimated 30 rockets and at least 20 mortar shells on targets in southern Israel. Al Jazeera, the most popular of the channels, quickly designed a logo for its live coverage, calling it 'Gaza Under Fire.'" The New York Times likewise reported that "Across the region, the Israeli strikes were being broadcast in grisly detail almost continually on Arab satellite networks."

Development

December 27

The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli newspaper, reported based on Israeli military sources that:

At 11:30 a.m., more than 50 fighter jets and attack helicopters swept into Gazan airspace and dropped more than 100 bombs on 50 targets. The planes reported ‘alpha hits,’ IAF lingo for direct hits on the targets, which included Hamas paramilitary bases, training camps, headquarters and offices. Thirty minutes later, a second wave of 60 jets and helicopters struck at 60 targets, including underground Kassam launchers — placed inside bunkers and missile silos — that had been fitted with timers.

The aircraft used were F-16 fighter jets and AH-64 Apache helicopters. The air-strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza killed at least 228 and wounded around 780. Israeli authorities stated that the attack was a response to Qassam rocket attacks on southern Israel which intensified during the few weeks preceding the operation. About 140 members of Hamas security forces had been killed, including police chief Tawfiq Jabber, the head of Hamas’ security and protection unit and the police commander for central Gaza along with at least 15 civilians. Children have been reported among the casualties. The bombed areas included a passing out ceremony for new police officers, killing around 40 cadets.

Sixty Israeli planes targeted Hamas security and military training compounds, as well as weapon storage buildings, and dropped more than 100 tons of bombs. Some of the bombs used on December 27 and 28 against underground Qassam launchers and tunnels around Rafah were the US built GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, the first shipment of which arrived in Israel at the beginning of the month. It is the most extensive attack in Gaza since 1967 in terms of the number of Palestinian casualties in one day. The Israeli attack is considered to be the bloodiest one-day death toll in 60 years of conflict with the Palestinians.

Hamas later fired 70 rockets and mortars at Israel. One of the rockets hit the town of Netivot, killing an Israeli man, destroying a house and wounding six other people. Another rocket hit a synagogue in the Eshkol Regional Council, injuring two men, one seriously. In the evening, two men in the Israeli community of Mivtahim were injured from a direct hit of a Hamas' rocket, one of them was seriously wounded.

December 28

Twenty-five airstrikes were carried out on Sunday by Israel, raising the numbers of casualties to to 287 dead and 900 wounded. According to the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the situation was further complicated by Hamas' refusal to allow the wounded to leave Gaza for medical treatment. One rocket shot by an F-16 fighter jet on a mosque near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, from which rockets were reported to be launched, killed four Hamas militants. Israeli jets bombed tunnels in the Rafah area. These are used to bring civilian goods into Gaza, but Israel targeted them due to their presumed use for illicit smuggling of weapons, explosives and fugitives. The main road of Sallah el-Dein in northern Gaza Strip was bombed. The road leads to the towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and Jabalia. No injuries were reported. An Israeli air-to-ground rocket destroyed a metal workshop in northern Gaza City which, according to Israel, was used in manufacturing Qassam rockets fired at Israel. The Al-Noor organisation in Gaza City, belonging to the Hamas movement, was bombed, causing severe damage to the building. The main building of the Hamas-owned Al Aqsa TV station was struck. The station continued broadcasting via a "mobile unit". Aidan White, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists "condemned" the destruction of the television station, stating that international law "forbids attacks on media installations, even when they are instruments of propaganda". The IAF attacked Jabalia and northern Gaza killing two more people and wounding others. An attack on Al Saraya, a building which includes government offices, security offices and a prison in Gaza city, was carried out causing the deaths of four people. A fuel lorry traveling in Rafah near the Egyptian border was destroyed, killing six people. IDF also confirmed the attack on weapon smuggling underground tunnels in Philadelphi Route and claimed successful destruction of 40 of them in just four minutes. Missiles also hit near the Beit Hanoun City Hall.

The rockets shooting from the Gaza Strip continued and the range was extended. Three rockets landed near the city of Ashdod - the fifth largest Israeli city and a main sea port. The border to Egypt was broken into and inhabitants from Gaza moved into Egypt. One Egyptian border policeman was killed by Palestinian gunmen, and several Palestinians were wounded by Egyptian gunfire and taken to hospital in Egypt.

December 29

Just after midnight on Monday December 29, six separate airstrikes were made by Israeli forces against the Islamic University of Gaza, a cultural symbol of Hamas, though the university had evacuated days in advance. According to Israeli reports, the university hosts Hamas military wing laboratories under the auspices of its professors, as well as being used for meetings of Hamas military officials. The death toll rose to 315 that morning, as reported by the Associated Press. The Palestinian interior ministry in Gaza building was hit by Israeli missiles at dawn. These two sites are reported to be the two main targets Monday. A mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp was also bombed by the IAF, destroying the building and leading to the death of five young girls whose house was located next to it. Ziad Abu-Tir, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad's military wing was killed in a strike in the Khan Younis area.

The International Red Cross said hospitals in the Gaza Strip were overwhelmed and unable to cope with the casualties, although Israel allowed a number of Turkish-donated ambulances from the West Bank to be transported to the Gaza Strip, as well as medical supplies given by the Red Cross, UNRWA, World Food Programme and Doctors Without Borders.

The Israeli city of Ashkelon was hit by a medium-range Grad missile killing an Israeli-Arab construction worker and seriously wounding three other people. Rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group killed two Israelis after nightfall in less than an hour, increasing pressure on the government as the army amassed infantry and armored forces along the border.

David Saranga of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that on December 30 Israel would be the first government to hold a worldwide press conference via Twitter to take questions from the public about the Gaza airstrikes.

The AP reports: "Israel's military intelligence chief said Hamas' ability to fire rockets had been reduced by 50 percent. Indeed, Hamas rocket fire dropped off sharply, from more than 130 on Saturday to just more than 20 yesterday. Still, Hamas continues to command some 20,000 fighters."

The foreign ministry of Senegal reported that exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has said he is ready to sign an immediate ceasefire with Israel provided Israel lifts its blockade on the Gaza Strip totally.

December 30

Israeli airstrikes struck five ministerial buildings, another structure owned by Islamic University, a Hamas sports centre, two Hamas training camps, the home of a senior Hamas commander (who was not present), and offices of the Popular Resistance Committees; 10 fatalities were reported. The "whole compound" of ministerial buildings in Gaza City, including the Ministries of Finance, Interior and Education, were "completely destroyed" by December 30. A reporter for the International Middle East Media Center stated that the ministries were 'not "terrorist" or military sites' and that the buildings were "civilian buildings that served the population in civil matters".

According to the Washington Post, Israel military officials have said that the target lists have been expanded beyond rocket launchers and stores of weapons to include the vast support network that the Islamist movement relies on to stay in power in the strip in order to weaken all the various facets of Hamas rather than just its armed wing.

As reported by the Associated Press, Gazans say that most Israeli strikes came without warning, but Israeli forces claimed that they offered general warnings by dropping leaflets and recording announcements that interrupt radio broadcasts telling Gaza residents to flee their homes if they were hiding weapons or militants.

Israel kept schools closed within a radius of about 30 km (18 miles) from the Gaza border, citing concerns about further rocket fire. Residents were told to remain indoors and on the alert for alarms heralding incoming rockets. Israel has said it would allow more aid trucks into Gaza. Dozens of trucks loaded with goods were seen heading to Gaza crossings early on Tuesday.

Hamas launched rockets at Beersheba, a city in southern Israel. A Grad missile landed in an empty kindergarten, causing damage.

Egypt said it would only fully open its border with the Gaza Strip if the crossing post was to come under the control of Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority.

Hamas militants fired 24 Qassam rockets and 11 mortars into Israel from Gaza, causing some damage but no injuries.

December 31

After 10 rockets and mortars were lobbed into Israel from Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that Israel will continue to respond to ongoing rocket attacks.

During the morning, two more rockets launched from Gaza hit the city of Beersheba; one of the rockets hit a school, causing severe damage to the building, but no casualties, as Israeli authorities instructed schools to remain closed.

Naval operations

On December 29 the IDF spokesperson confirmed for the first time that, apart from maintaining the naval blockade on Gaza, the Israeli Navy is taking an active part in the operation. A video taken by the Israeli Navy and published in several news sites showed the Israeli Navy attacking the Gaza coast line, using both Typhoon Weapon System and surface-to-surface missiles. According to Haaretz, among the targets hit by the Israeli Navy were Ismayil Haniah's offices, several command and control centers used by Hamas, and a Hamas patrol boat.

On Monday December 29, 16 international activists from the international political organisation Free Gaza Movement, including three al Jazeera journalists, Irish human rights activist Caoimhe Butterly, former United States Representative and 2008 Green Party nominee for US President Cynthia McKinney, CNN video correspondent Ken Penhaul, and three surgeons, including Dr Elena Theoharous, a member of the Cyprus Parliament, attempted to enter the Gaza Strip by boat, carrying 3.5 tonnes of medical supplies. The activists stated that several Israeli navy boats approached their boat, "Dignity". They claimed that one Israeli boat rammed the Dignity causing heavy damage and that several Israeli boats fired machine guns into the water. The activists claimed that their boat was clearly in international waters, about "70-80 miles" or "90 miles" from the Gaza Strip coast. Cynthia McKinney claimed that the Israeli boat had rammed the Dignity "approximately three times, twice in the front and once in the side". Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that no shooting had occurred and that the Dignity had failed to respond to Israeli naval radio contact. Palmor claimed that the Dignity had crashed into an Israel boat when the Dignity had "tried to outmaneuver" the Israeli boat. Palmor claimed that the fact that the ship was carrying journalists, including a CNN crew that has already broadcasted live three times, proves that this was a provocation on the part of the media. Immediately after the incident the aid ship turned back. The Israeli naval ship offered to assist the passengers of the aid ship, who declined the offer. Israeli ships then escorted the damaged ship until it exited what were claimed to be Israeli territorial waters. The Dignity did not have enough fuel to return to Cyprus and ended up docking in Lebanon.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou stated that Cyprus would lodge a formal complaint regarding the incident. In a written statement, the Consulate General of Israel to the Southeast USA, based in Atlanta, Georgia, said that McKinney "has taken it upon herself to commit an act of provocation," endangering herself and the crew, and called her behavior "irresponsible".

Casualties

Palestinian health officials put the three-day death toll in Gaza at 363, while the United Nations humanitarian chief said that about 320 Palestinians had been killed and 1,400 injured. The UN said that civilian casualties, defined only as women and children, are 62. Israel has said that most of the deaths and injuries were Hamas militants and says it takes careful steps to avoid harm to bystanders.

An Israeli was killed and one seriously wounded by a rocket strike in the Negev desert community of Nahal Oz, closer to the Gaza border. Earlier, a missile had killed a construction worker in the city of Ashkelon. In all, four Israelis have been killed by rocket since the Gaza offensive began.

In Gaza City, five daughters from the same family were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli minister Tzipi Livni was asked to comment on the deaths. Dozens of Gaza Arabs are being treated in Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital. Egypt has allowed some wounded to cross from Gaza for treatment.

One Egyptian border guard has been killed.

On December 30, Ma'an News Agency reported 375 deaths and more than 1720 wounded, "hundreds" of them seriously wounded.

Ground attack

The IDF is preparing for a possible ground offensive on the Gaza strip. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that "if boots on the ground will be needed, they will be there," and that Israel’s "intention is to totally change the rules of the game". On December 28, the government approved the call-up of 6,500 reservists (2,000 had been called up the day before the decision, and 4,500 were to be called up on the day of the decision).

Reactions

Main article: International reaction to the December 2008 Gaza Strip airstrikes

Some members of the Arab League including Libya, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen condemned the attacks by Israel. Russia, France, and the United Kingdom have condemned both sides. The United States, Egypt and Germany said that Israel's attack was a result of the Hamas bombing and that it condemned the attacks by Hamas. Some Arab states were condemned by others for being sympathetic or indifferent to the attacks. The United Nations Security Council called on December 28 "for an immediate halt to all violence".

Several Muslim religious authorities including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, major Iraqi Shi'a cleric Ali Sistani and Awadh Al-Qarni issued a fatwa urging Muslims to "avenge the Gaza raids."

Involved parties

Entity	Reaction
Israel	Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "we tried to avoid, and I think quite successfully, to hit any uninvolved people - we attacked only targets that are part of the Hamas organisations".
Palestinian National Authority	President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attacks and called for restraint. Speaking from Cairo, he said Hamas could have avoided the attacks.
Hamas	Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' leader in Gaza, called Israel's attacks an "ugly massacre". The leader of Hamas in Damascus, Khaled Meshal, threatened revenge attacks, saying "the time for the third Intifada has come."
Egypt	Egypt, whose mediation attempts have now failed has laid blame on the Hamas organisation. The Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has accused Hamas of not heeding Egypt's warnings of the results of provoking Israel by firing missiles at its cities, and has laid the blame on the militant organisation. He was quoted saying that those who did not heed the warning "should bear the responsibility" and that Egypt had predicted this would be the play of events, "because Hamas did not stop firing rockets into Israel."

Reaction from International Organisations

Organisation	Notes
Arab League	The Arab League was planning on holding an emergency summit in Cairo on December 28, to discuss the attack. The summit was delayed to January 2, 2009 and will be held in Doha.
European Union	A spokesman for the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, called "for an immediate ceasefire" and urged "everybody to exert maximum restraint". France, which holds the EU presidency, condemned acts of violence on both sides, though it especially singled out "Israel's disproportional use of force." The European Commission has issued a statement urging both sides to halt the conflict so supplies can be delivered to Gaza's 1.5m population, and expressing "deep concern" about the situation.
United Nations	The United Nations - Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spokesperson stated that "the secretary general is deeply alarmed by today’s heavy violence and bloodshed in Gaza, and the continuation of violence in southern Israel." Ban condemned Israel’s "excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians" and ‘the ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.’" He appealed for "an immediate halt to all violence [and reiterated] previous calls for humanitarian supplies to be allowed into Gaza to aid the distressed civilian population." Richard Falk, a UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, has accused Israel of "committing a shocking series of atrocities by using modern weaponry against a defenceless population."
United Nations Security Council	The UNSC called on December 28 "for an immediate halt to all violence".

External links

Ongoing news coverage:

• Aljazeera,
• BBC News,
• CNN,
• Christian Science Monitor,
• The Guardian,
• Haaretz,
• Jerusalem Post,
• Los Angeles Times
• Fox News