January 11th

Fierce Focus on Tunnels, a Lifeline for Gazans ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Stephen Farrell - January 10, 2009 - 1:00am Fifty feet underground, the tunnel looked like a giant wormhole: large enough for a man to crawl through, worn smooth by constant use and disappearing into the subterranean darkness beneath the Gaza-Egypt border. Waist high, three feet wide and equipped with a motorized winch and electric lights, it was one of scores of Palestinian tunnels beneath the southern Gaza town of Rafah in March 2008, when a reporter visited. » Read more

Israel warns Gaza residents of 'new phase' of offensive ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Rushdi Abu Alouf, Richard Boudreaux - January 11, 2009 - 1:00am Israel's aircraft pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday and scattered leaflets warning of an escalation in attacks, but there was no sign that its forces had begun a major advance on the militant group's urban strongholds. A senior Hamas commander and seven members of a Palestinian family were among those killed on the 15th day of Israel's thundering air and artillery assault, which also damaged a hospital. Palestinian militants fired 15 rockets into Israel, wounding three people. » Read more

Israeli Troops Push Into Gaza City in Day of Fierce Fighting ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner, Steven Erlanger - January 11, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli troops pushed into a heavily populated area of Gaza City from the south early on Sunday in what the army and locals described as fierce fighting. In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the nation that Israel is “getting close to achieving the goals it set for itself,” but that “more patience, determination and effort is still demanded.” Speaking during the regular Sunday cabinet meeting, Mr. Olmert gave no time frame for the conflict but said that Israel “must not miss out, at the last moment, on what has been achieved through an unprecedented national effort.” » Read more

Israeli troops, militants battle in Gaza suburb ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Ibrahim Barzak, Matti Friedman - January 11, 2009 - 1:00am Israeli troops battled Palestinian gunmen in a suburb of Gaza City Sunday in one of the fiercest ground battles so far as Israel's military inched toward Gaza's population centers. A top Israeli defense official said Hamas has been badly hurt by the offensive in Gaza - especialy by the deaths of senior militants and shortages of ammunition - but predicted that the group would fight on. The group "is not expected to raise a white flag," military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told the Israeli Cabinet Sunday. » Read more

Israel says Gaza war nearing end as fighting rages ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) January 11, 2009 - 1:00am Israel indicated for the first time on Sunday that an end was in sight to its war on Hamas, amid some of the heaviest clashes of an offensive that has killed nearly 900 people in the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza's main city, sparking some of the fiercest battles yet of the 16-day-old war that Israel launched in response to rocket fire, but that has failed to completely stop the rockets. » Read more

January 10th

Ceasefire ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - January 9, 2009 - 1:00am It is obvious who is losing the Gaza war. But who is winning? First the losers. Hamas is losing. It made the mistake of believing its own propaganda about Israelis having lost the determination to fight for their state. For some reason, Hamas decided that the veterans of 1948, 1967, and 1973 had produced cowardly, unpatriotic, and inept descendants. Big mistake. » Read more

Peace Is No Longer in Sight ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Tom Segev - January 10, 2009 - 1:00am At the end of the 10th day of Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip, I was zapping between Israeli, Arab and international TV channels. The pictures grew more gruesome from moment to moment. Then a friend called to tell me that Mezzo, a French concert channel, had just started playing "Christ on the Mount of Olives," a rather obscure oratorio by Beethoven. » Read more

The price to be paid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff - January 10, 2009 - 1:00am On Wednesday, as foreign emissaries and mediators shuttled across the Middle East, the latest defense establishment assessment was that Hamas was not yet ready for a cease-fire. "They are adamant about ending this war with some sort of political achievement," an Israeli security source said. "Otherwise, the heavy price they paid will be seen to be in vain." » Read more

Gaza Strikes Reverberate in Egypt ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Sudarsan Raghavan - January 10, 2009 - 1:00am Rarely has an Arab leader been so widely perceived as backing Israel and the United States against the Palestinians, whose struggle has been a fundamental rallying point for Arabs and Muslims for more than six decades. But Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has rejected popular and regional pressure to open the Gaza-Egypt border and toughen his stance against Israel. In recent days, his government has voiced support for Palestinians in an effort to defuse mounting criticism, but officials continue to suppress anti-Israeli demonstrations. » Read more

Egyptians Seethe Over Gaza, and Their Leaders Feel Heat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Michael Slackman - January 9, 2009 - 1:00am CAIRO — Inside Al Azhar Mosque, a 1,000-year-old center of religious learning, the preacher was railing on Friday against Jews. Outside were rows of riot police officers backed by water cannons and dozens of plainclothes officers, there to prevent worshipers from charging into the street to protest against the war in Gaza. » Read more