Frontline despatch from the Mirror’s security correspondent on the border as hopes of a ceasefire to end the Israel-Palestine bloodshed fade
Israel unleashed a devastating offensive against Gaza yesterday as hopes of a ceasefire to end the bloodshed faded last night.
Up to 50 Israeli missiles pounded stricken Gaza in just one hour as the Jewish state’s military might tried to wipe out Palestinian bomb teams.
Fighter jets were frantically hunting down Hamas and Islamic Jihad gangs before a proposed ceasefire came into effect at midnight – 10pm UK time.
But with less than two hours before the deadline, Izzat Al-Rishq, of Hamas, claimed the ceasefire had been held up because “Israel had yet to respond to its conditions” for a truce.
He added: “We must wait until tomorrow.”
In another worrying move, thousands of terrified Palestinians were ordered to flee their homes in Gaza through fears of unforgiving Israeli air-strikes.
Jets dropped leaflets telling residents to the north and outskirts of bombed Gaza City to “evacuate immediately for your own safety”.
Elsewhere along the Gaza Strip, residents received chilling telephone warnings from Israeli intelligence officers telling them their home would be bombed and they must leave immediately.
Senior Israel Defence Force officials refused to explain yesterday’s evacuation.
Within an hour of the leaflet drop, an area in the north was battered by 13 huge, deafening explosions and shrouded by dirty white smoke.
Sources claimed it could be a build-up to a partial ground invasion by Israel to help persuade Hamas to stick to any sort of a ceasefire that might be brokered.
Diplomats last night continued with peace talks as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to the Middle East to help end the violence.
From Egypt, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said the fighting was an “alarming situation that must stop”.
He added: “Both sides must hold fire immediately.”
So far the death toll for Palestinians is 130 – among them 54 civilians – and close to 900 people wounded, including 225 children.
Five Israelis, including four civilians, have also died and dozens have been wounded since the fighting began last Wednesday.
Yesterday, rumours spread that a partial ground operation may already be under way beneath the gathering darkness.
One military source told the Daily Mirror: “If the Palestinians break the ceasefire – if indeed one is reached – then Israel will unleash hell and the next stage must be a ground offensive.
“Everyone has seen how shaky Middle East ceasefires are.”
More than 1,000 rockets have been fired at Israel this week, according to the military.
Palestinian teams successfully fired a missile for the second time toward Jerusalem causing an explosion moments after air raid sirens sounded across the holy city.
Jerusalem is nearly 50 miles from Gaza and the most distant and strategically important city the militants have targeted.
The Israeli town of Ashkelon was also targeted, with one missile beating the Iron Dome defence system and smashing into the centre, injuring one person.
Yesterday grieving Gazans buried militants and civilians, including two boys in Beit Lahiya, as Israeli airstrikes continued.
As bombs continued to rain down, the Israeli Defence Force insisted the “precision” attacks were the result of painstaking “intelligence gathering”.
Hamas thugs responded by seizing six so-called collaborators, executing them with a shot to the head and dragging two of their corpses through the streets after tying them to motorbikes.
In one airstrike, according to the IDF, an F16 strike killed a team of Palestinians suspected of kidnapping the now freed hostage Gilad Shalit.
Another rocket team was destroyed as it apparently aimed an anti-tank weapon at an Israeli Kibbutz community just inside the border.
Israel’s leader Binyamin Netanyahu warned that Israel wouldn’t baulk at a broader military operation.
He said: “I would prefer a diplomatic solution. But if the fire continues, we will be forced to take broader measures and will not hesitate to do so.”
“I can barely sleep, eat or sit”: Gaza schoolgirl writes of her fears
Living through the bombardment in Gaza City, schoolgirl Lillian Al-Zebda, 14, writes:
IN my daily life I go to school, do my homework, watch TV, but in wartime I have nothing to do except for following the news anxiously.
My family has noticed that I become disturbed and confused. I can’t concentrate. I don’t go to bed before midnight.
They try to help me to get distracted with my lessons, but I refuse because I’m so scared.
As I live on the 8th floor, I can see most of the explosions. I can barely sleep, eat or sit normally.
In fact, I jump off the couch every time I hear an aeroplane flying overhead.
I can’t sleep alone because the sound is too loud and frightening.
So I ask my elder sister to sleep next to me and every time I hear an aeroplane, my heart beats faster. Everyone is nervous.
I really miss school. I wish that both sides would accept a truce and stop the bombings.