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).

---

---

---

Israeli Officials Say Hamas Damaged But Not Destroyed ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger, Sabrina Tavernise - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

In Gaza, Hamas is battered, not broken, Israeli official says ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman, Sebastian Rotella - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Refugees surge raise concerns of a broader Gaza war ATFP World Press Roundup Article from International Herald Tribune by Taghreed El-Khodary, Sabrina Tavernise - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Israel's Top Leaders Weighing Their Next Steps in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Griff Witte - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Egypt wants Hamas to sign up to truce deal 'now' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Report: Hamas agrees to Turkey troops on Gaza-Egypt border ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Avi Issacharoff, Yoav Stern - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Everything is complicated, but nothing is impossible ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National by Hamida Ghafour - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Neither Israel nor Hamas can be choosy in Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Amir Oren - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Groups say Israel failed to plan for the safety of Gaza civilians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from McClatchy News by Ahmed Abu Hamda, Shashank Bengali - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Israelis United on Gaza War as Censure Rises Abroad ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 12, 2009 - 1:00am 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. » Read more

Clinton Sympathizes With Palestinians In Confirmation Hearing ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Ryan Grim - January 13, 2009 - 1:00am 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." » Read more

---

---