Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Gaza aggressors kiss cell phones goodbye
| Gaza aggressors kiss cell phones goodbye Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:19:56 GMT | |
Six hours before the Israeli ground incursion into Gaza on Saturday, thousands of infantry and armored forces were ordered to hand over their cell phones, an official has told AFP on condition of anonymity. The order was "to keep the impending attack secret", an Israeli official was quoted as saying. The military censor's office also banned media coverage of the offensive until two hours after it began, the report said. The Israeli military had also used several deception techniques, one of which was to grant leaves to soldiers and release bogus reports on planned cabinet meetings before the attack on Gaza on December 27. The army has also tried to confuse Palestinian fighters, including those of the Hamas, by sending dozens of units to different locations along the Gaza border. Israel violated its six-month ceasefire with Hamas earlier in 2008 and says its launch of Operation Cast Lead is aimed at halting rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. According to Israel, the war on Gaza will end Palestinian rocket attacks, topple Hamas and prevent the democratically-elected group from rearming. Hamas, on the other hand, demands a cessation of Israeli attacks and the opening of the Gaza border -- which has been closed due to the 18-month blockade imposed on the strip by Tel Aviv. Israel escalated its attacks on Saturday and entered the strip with ground troops and armored vehicles. The Israeli aggression has so far claimed more than 584 Palestinian lives and has left over 3000 others wounded. The recent conflict is the latest of a series which began when world powers created Israel in 1948 under the slogan of a 'land without a people and a people without a land'. The move neglected the fact that the Palestinians were the natives of the land. The international Red Cross on Tuesday revealed that Israeli policies in Gaza have led to a "full-blown" humanitarian crisis. The situation for Palestinian civilians is "extreme and traumatic as a result of 10 days of uninterrupted fighting," said the International Committee of the Red Cross head of operations, Pierre Kraehenbuehl. He says ICRC staff in Gaza told the neutral body Tuesday that the previous night was "the most frightening of all to date" on account of the ground offensive Israel has launched in the Palestinian territory. MT/AA |
# posted by Unknown : Tuesday, January 06, 2009
