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January 13, 2008

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

Israeli officials are claiming that as result of the offensive in Gaza Hamas has been "weakened but not destroyed" (1),(2). The offensive has forced tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes (3). Israeli leaders debate how and when to end the 17-day operation (5). Egypt is urging Hamas to agree to a truce (6). Israel is facing increased international pressure due to the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza (9),(10). Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton reaffirms commitment to Palestinian state at confirmation hearing (11).


[5]



Israeli Officials Say Hamas Damaged But Not Destroyed

Article Author(s): 
Steven Erlanger
Article Author(s): 
Sabrina Tavernise
Media Outlet: 
The New York Times
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/world/middleeast/14mideast.html?_r=1&ref=world [6]

TEL AVIV — As Israeli forces tightened their circle around Gaza on Tuesday, senior Israeli intelligence officials said Hamas military forces had been damaged but remained substantially intact. The intelligence officials were briefing reporters.



In Gaza, Hamas is battered, not broken, Israeli official says

Article Author(s): 
Jeffrey Fleishman
Article Author(s): 
Sebastian Rotella
Media Outlet: 
The Los Angeles Times
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza14-2009jan14,0,7837955.s... [7]

Reporting from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem — The military power of Hamas has been weakened and its political leadership is divided over plans for a possible ceasefire, but an Israeli intelligence official said today that the radical group remains formidable, with 15,000 fighters and a sophisticated arsenal of rockets and anti-tank weapons and tunnels.



Refugees surge raise concerns of a broader Gaza war

Article Author(s): 
Taghreed El-Khodary
Article Author(s): 
Sabrina Tavernise
Media Outlet: 
International Herald Tribune
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/13/mideast/refugees.php [8]

GAZA: Growing numbers of Palestinians are fleeing their homes for makeshift shelters in schools, office buildings and a park as the Israeli Army continues to press its military campaign deeper into the city of Gaza.

According to the United Nations, about 30,000 people are living in schools it sponsors, and an estimated 60,000 have fled to the houses of relatives. The figures represent a small part of Gaza's 1.5 million population but have doubled in the past four days, UN officials said, raising concerns about the humanitarian impact of a broader war.



Israel's Top Leaders Weighing Their Next Steps in Gaza

Article Author(s): 
Griff Witte
Media Outlet: 
The Washington Post
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203013.... [9]

Israel's leaders debated Monday how and when to bring their 17-day-old offensive in Gaza to an end, as battles continued to rage on the edge of Gaza City and as Israeli reservists flowed into the territory, ready for a possible deeper push into urban areas.

The moves came as negotiators in Cairo sought to reach a cease-fire agreement, hoping to put a halt to violence that medical officials in the Gaza Strip said has claimed the lives of more than 900 Palestinians, as many as half of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis have been killed, three of them civilians.



Egypt wants Hamas to sign up to truce deal 'now'

Media Outlet: 
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g6vmei4DlvtiZxkPPKboDODUKj1w [10]

CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt was on Tuesday holding talks with Hamas on Cairo's Gaza truce proposal, with an official calling for the Islamists to sign up "now" in the hope of announcing a ceasefire before the end of the week.

A Hamas delegation was to hold a fresh round of talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, as Israel's offensive ploughed on for an 18th day and diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed plodded forward.



Report: Hamas agrees to Turkey troops on Gaza-Egypt border

Article Author(s): 
Avi Issacharoff
Article Author(s): 
Yoav Stern
Media Outlet: 
Haaretz
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055144.html [11]

Hamas sources have said that the Palestinian militant organization would agree to the deployment of Turkish troops along Gaza's border with Egypt, the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported Tuesday.

"We trust Turkey and its role as an Islamic country," the Hamas officials said. They were referring to a proposal recently submitted to Hamas' Damascus-based political chief Khaled Meshal by Turkish officials.



Everything is complicated, but nothing is impossible

Article Author(s): 
Hamida Ghafour
Media Outlet: 
The National
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090113/OPINION/998813858/1080 [12]

The roads from Cairo to the northern Sinai peninsula are patrolled by Egyptian police and intelligence officers and many checkpoints have been set up along the way since Israel began its attack on the Gaza Strip.

At the Rafah crossing on the border between Egypt and Gaza, the Egyptians are allowing through only convoys of medical aid, and accepting Palestinians injured by Israeli attacks. In Cairo the wail of ambulances continues day and night as the wounded are taken to local hospitals for treatment.



Neither Israel nor Hamas can be choosy in Gaza

Article Author(s): 
Amir Oren
Media Outlet: 
Haaretz
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054907.html [13]

To judge by the sights and sounds on the Negev's roads, at military staff headquarters and at training facilities, Operation Cast Lead is about to take off to new heights.



Groups say Israel failed to plan for the safety of Gaza civilians

Article Author(s): 
Ahmed Abu Hamda
Article Author(s): 
Shashank Bengali
Media Outlet: 
McClatchy News
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/977472.html [14]

Israel's offensive in Gaza has forced as many as 90,000 Gazans to abandon their homes, and thousands more may soon have to flee in search of safety, humanitarian aid organizations said Monday.

For civilians caught in the crossfire between Hamas militants and Israel's military, however, there's no escape to safety abroad and no sure sanctuary in Gaza. Some families have had to move repeatedly to escape the violence.



Israelis United on Gaza War as Censure Rises Abroad

Article Author(s): 
Ethan Bronner
Media Outlet: 
The New York Times
Date: 
January 12, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/world/middleeast/13israel.html?hp [15]

JERUSALEM — To Israel’s critics abroad, the picture could not be clearer: Israel’s war in Gaza is a wildly disproportionate response to the rockets of Hamas, causing untold human suffering and bombing an already isolated and impoverished population into the Stone Age, and it must be stopped.

Yet here in Israel very few, at least among the Jewish population, see it that way.



Clinton Sympathizes With Palestinians In Confirmation Hearing

Article Author(s): 
Ryan Grim
Media Outlet: 
The Huffington Post
Date: 
January 13, 2009
Source Link(s): 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/clinton-sympathizes-with_n_157487.html?... [16]

Hillary Clinton sent a message to Israel Tuesday during her Secretary of State confirmation hearing testimony, telling the Foreign Relations Committee that because of the conflict in Gaza "we have ...been reminded of the tragic humanitarian costs of conflict in the Middle East, and pained by the suffering of Palestinian and Israeli civilians."

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Source URL (retrieved on Nov 22 2024 - 10:34pm): http://www.americantaskforce.org/world_press_roundup/20090113t000000

Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/1887
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/1887
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/1887
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] http://www.americantaskforce.org/world_press_roundup/20090113t000000
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/world/middleeast/14mideast.html?_r=1&ref=world
[7] http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza14-2009jan14,0,7837955.story
[8] http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/13/mideast/refugees.php
[9] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203013.html
[10] http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g6vmei4DlvtiZxkPPKboDODUKj1w
[11] http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1055144.html
[12] http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090113/OPINION/998813858/1080
[13] http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054907.html
[14] http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/977472.html
[15] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/world/middleeast/13israel.html?hp
[16] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/clinton-sympathizes-with_n_157487.html?view=print