Humanitarian Issues

[ninathedog]

confusion reigns:

Keyword News: ["Gaza Strip"]
...
From:
Yahoo! Alerts <[e-mail]> [Chat now]
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 11:39 AM PDT

Five dead in Gaza in Israeli mortar attack
Aljazeera Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:31 AM PDT
Victims included children playing football, according to witnesses, as Israeli shell destroys house in Gaza Strip.
english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011322162920193682.html

Israeli strike kills four, wounds 13 in Gaza Strip, Palestinians say
The Globe and Mail Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:26 AM PDT
Attack launched in response to rocket fire from Gaza escalates recent round of violence
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/israeli-strike-kills-four-wounds-13-in-gaza-strip-palestinians-say/article1951678/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=World&utm_content=1951678

GAZA STRIP: Israel tank shells kill three Gaza children, one man
Los Angeles Times Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:08 AM PDT
Several Israeli tank shells landed Tuesday at a playground in Gaza City, killing three children and their grandfather and injuring 12 other children and women, hospital sources and witnesses said. Eyewitnesses said that seven tank shells slammed a playground where...
latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/03/gaza-strip-israel-tank-shells-kill-three-gaza-children-old-man.html

Israeli military fire kills 3 Palestinian children and their uncle, Palestinians say
The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:36 AM PDT
An Israeli military strike aimed at Palestinian militants missed its target Tuesday, killing three children and their uncle and wounding 13 other family members as they played soccer in their backyard in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said.
ca.news.yahoo.com/israeli-aircraft-strike-gaza-18-palestinians-slightly-wounded-20110321-221507-650.html

Five Gaza youths dead as violence persists; 23 injured
EARTHtimes.org Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:33 AM PDT
available Gaza City/Tel Aviv - Five youths, including a 12-year-old, who were playing soccer in the Gaza Strip were killed Tuesday in an incident the Israeli military termed regrettable.
www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/372923,violence-persists-23-injured.html

Israeli tank shell hits Gaza home, five hurt: medics
Reuters Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:31 AM PDT
GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli tank fire struck a house in the Gaza Strip Tuesday, injuring at least five people, Palestinian medics said.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-palestinians-israel-gaza-idUSTRE72L3PJ20110322?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Gaza Strip war escalates in pictures
The Star Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:05 AM PDT
Palestinians carry the body of a youth in Al-Shifa hospital after Israeli tank fire struck a home. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
www.thestar.co.za/gaza-strip-war-escalates-in-pictures-1.1045552

4 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strike on Gaza
Fox News Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:42 AM PDT
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Palestinian officials said an Israeli military strike killed four family members and wounded 13 others in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after days of rocket fire toward Israel.
www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/22/palestinians-killed-gaza-israeli-military-strike/

Israeli troops thwart attack following Gaza strikes
The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:34 AM PDT
Israeli troops thwarted Gaza Palestinians preparing to launch an anti-tank missile at an Israeli force operating in the northern Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target in Tuesdayâs operation.
www.jewishjournal.com/israel/article/israeli_troops_thwart_attack_following_gaza_strikes_20110322/

Palestinians: 4 Killed, 13 Wounded in Gaza Strip
ABC News Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:47 AM PDT
Palestinians say Israeli military fire kills 4 and wounds 13 east of Gaza City
abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=13190438

The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement said its soldiers hit their target

[ninathedog]

Israel attacks Gaza

From: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs <[e-mail]>

Washington Report
1902 18th St NW • Washington, DC 20009 | [phone] • Fax: [phone]

ACTION ALERT
March 22, 2011
Contact: [e-mail]

As the World Looks Elsewhere,
Israel Attacks Gaza

Last night Israel launched airstrikes on six targets in Gaza, wounding at least 19 people, including seven children and two women. According to Washington Report Gaza correspondent Mohammed Omer, the Israeli army was calling families in Khan Younis telling them to flee their homes and tanks and bulldozers were gathering around Zaytoun, east of Gaza City.


photo source: xinhuanet.com

Is Israel preparing “Operation Cast Lead Two” while the world’s attention is diverted elsewhere? Will it yet again use American weapons for illegal acts of aggression, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act? Will more innocent civilians be killed and wounded?

Take action now: Call the White House, State Department and your elected representatives to
demand that Israel not attack Gaza and that the U.S. end its unconditional support of Israel.

White House comment line: [phone]

State Department public information line: [phone]

Any Senator: [phone]

Any Representative [phone]

wrmea.org/component/content/article/233-action-alerts/10475-israel-attacks-gaza.html

[ninathedog]

Five dead in Gaza in
Israeli mortar attack

Victims included children playing football, according to witnesses, as
Israeli shell destroys house in Gaza Strip.

Last Modified: 22 Mar 2011 17:30
Al Jazeera.net


The raid comes after increased cross-border violence, raising fears of another Israeli invasion of Gaza [Reuters]

At least five Palestinians, including children according to witnesses, have been killed in an Israeli mortar attack which struck a house in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israel said on Tuesday it was responding to rocket attacks from Gaza. Another 10 people were wounded in the attack.

"At least five people died when Israel opened fire on young people who were playing football in Shejaiya", Adham Abu Selmiya, an emergency services spokesman, told AFP news agency.

The army confirmed it had fired mortar rounds towards the eastern outskirts of Gaza City on Tuesday, shortly after four rockets hit Israel, and expressed "regret" over reports that civilians had been hurt.

It was the third time Shejaiya had been targeted on Tuesday, following an earlier one which wounded one fighter and a burst of tank fire, which left two civilians wounded shortly after dawn.

Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Gaza, said that more tit-for-tat attacks may be expected.

"Tensions look to be rising here, and violence could increase," he said.

The latest incident also comes after at least 19 people were wounded in a series of raids on Monday, in the northern town of Beit Lahiya and Gaza City.

Witnesses said a security compound for Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, a training camp north of the city and a brickworks and metal foundry in northern Gaza were among the targets.

Rising cross-border violence has occurred, also increasing tensions between Israel and Hamas and once again raising fears of another large-scale Israeli invasion.

english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011322162920193682.html

.............


Gaza Strip war escalates
in pictures

The Star — South Africa
March 22, 2011


Palestinians carry the body of a youth in Al-Shifa hospital after Israeli tank fire struck a home. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:55


A Palestinian carries a wounded girl after Israeli strikes in Gaza City. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:55


Palestinians wheel one of four dead bodies following an Israeli strike at a house east of Gaza City, to the morgue of Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Palestinian officials said an Israeli military strike killed four family members and wounded 13 others in the Gaza Strip, after days of rocket fire toward Israel. Photo: AP
March 22 2011 at 18:56


Palestinians survey the scene after Israeli tank fire struck a home in Gaza City. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:56


Palestinians gather at the scene after Israeli tank fire struck a home in Gaza City. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:56


Palestinians mourn in Al-Shifa hospital after Israeli tank fire struck a home. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:56


A Palestinian mourns in Al-Shifa hospital after an Israeli tank fire struck a home. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:56


A Palestinian carries an injured boy into Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after Israeli tank fire struck home. An Israeli tank fire struck a home in the Gaza Strip, killing four Palestinians, including three youths, and injuring three other people. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. In recent days Israel has stepped up retaliatory strikes on Gaza following a barrage of rocket fire from the enclave, which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group. Photo: Reuters
March 22 2011 at 18:56

www.thestar.co.za/gaza-strip-war-escalates-in-pictures-1.1045552

..........

REUTERS VIDEO—


www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvcA8D9trEo

Another Reuters video—
www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=197765466

[ninathedog]

Israel attacks Gaza

From: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs <[e-mail]>

Washington Report
1902 18th St NW • Washington, DC 20009 | [phone] • Fax: [phone]

ACTION ALERT
March 22, 2011
Contact: [e-mail]

As the World Looks Elsewhere,
Israel Attacks Gaza

>>edited for length

Take action now: Call the White House, State Department and your elected representatives to
demand that Israel not attack Gaza and that the U.S. end its unconditional support of Israel.

White House comment line: [phone]

State Department public information line: [phone]

Any Senator: [phone]

Any Representative [phone]

wrmea.org/component/content/article/233-action-alerts/10475-israel-attacks-gaza.html

[ninathedog]

Gaza TV News
‎**** BREAKING NEWS ****

Reports are coming in of another Israeli airstrike that has killed 3, and injured several others in the Zaytoon area. More news when it comes in.

.......

It has now been confirmed that 4 Palestinian men were murdered in this attack.
25 minutes ago

via Gaza TV News on Facebook

[ninathedog]

Fresh Israeli air strikes
kill 4 (more) in Gaza

Published today (updated) 22/03/2011 21:32
Ma'an News Agency

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Israeli warplanes killed four Palestinians in an air strike on Az-Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City on Tuesday evening, medics said.

The attack came hours after Israeli artillery fire hit a home east of Gaza City killing a child, a teenager and three adults.

Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the four victims of the latest strike were members of the Al-Quds Brigades. They were all in their 20s, he said.

Abu Salmiya identified those killed as Adham Al-Hazareen, Sa'dy Hals, Muhammad Atyeh Al-Harazeen and Muhammad Abed.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israeli fighter jets identified "a group of terrorists" in northern Gaza who she said were preparing to launch a projectile into Israel. The warplanes dropped missiles on the group "and confirmed a hit," she added.

The army official said the men targeted were from the same group that launched a grad rocket into Israel on February 23, but could not say how they had been identified.

Earlier in the day, Israeli tanks fired at a home on An-Nazzaz Street in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City.

Abu Salmiya said members of the Abu Hilu family were playing football outside the home when the shell hit.

Muhammad Jihad Al-Hilu, 11, Yasser Ahed Al-Hilu, 16, Muhammad Saber Harara, 20, Yasser Hamer Al-Hilu, 50, and a fifth unidentified victim were all killed in the (earlier) attack, and several others were injured, the medical spokesman said.

Israel's military spokeswoman said forces fired toward a launch site for projectiles, but admitted that "uninvolved civilians were injured."

However, she blamed Hamas for operating "within a civilian population."

She added that the army "does not seek an escalation with this act."

On Tuesday morning, Israeli artillery fire injured one man and a drone strike critically injured another in the same area.

Shortly before midnight the day before, a series of Israeli air strikes injured 18, including women and children.

Several hours before the raids, Hamas' armed wing called for a truce.

Israel's military says Gaza militants have launched over 50 projectiles into Israel in recent days.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas, said it fired mortars into Israel in response to an air strike that killed two of its members on Wednesday.

But the group said it would commit to a ceasefire if Israel stopped bombarding the Gaza Strip.

Israeli leaders have stepped up rhetoric in response to the projectiles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would use "all means necessary to protect its citizens."

According to Israeli news site Ynet, opposition leader Tzipi Livni called for another Operation Cast Lead, Israel's devastating 22-day offensive launched in December 2008 which killed over 1,400 Palestinians.

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371373

[ninathedog]

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Cl1a1VhBVhc

[ninathedog]

Palestinian government calls on the international community to
stop Israeli escalation against Gaza

Tuesday, 22 March 2011 12:29
Middle East Monitor

The Palestinian government in Gaza has called on Arab and international bodies to intervene promptly to stop Israel's escalation of violence against the besieged territory. A spokesman for Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that urgent messages have been sent to the UN Secretary General, his counterpart at the Arab League and some European governments. According to political counsellor Yousef Zarqa, "Mr. Haniyeh's government has revealed the extent of Israeli plans to escalate the conflict with Gaza and requested immediate intervention to bring such provocation to an end."

Mr. Zarqa expressed his deep concern over the Israeli escalation, which he described as "insane and dangerous". It is, he said, intended to thwart efforts to bring about Palestinian reconciliation and a unified government for the people of Palestine.

"The ongoing Israeli escalation can be attributed to several things," he continued. "The Israeli occupation authorities are seeking excuses to put the conflict up a notch or two, including accusations against Palestinian groups that they have been targeting Israeli settlements." He said that he doubts if this is the real reason for Israeli action: "In fact, it's all part of a strategy reflecting the nature of Zionist ideology, which is based on brute force."

Zarqa considers the Israeli escalation to be "influenced and affected by the wave of change in Arab countries bringing to the fore movements which are against Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestine. "Israel is using this military escalation," he added, "to convey a message to Hamas, those pushing for Palestinian reconciliation, and the Arab countries supporting the Palestinian cause, especially the new Egypt." Zarqa referred to a statement by Israeli politician Tzipi Livni, who has called on the Israeli government to "destroy Hamas" as a pre-emptive step "before the anti-Israel movements [in the Arab world] settle".

www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2160-palestinian-government-calls-on-the-international-community-to-stop-israeli-escalation-against-gaza

..........


Haniyeh asks UN Security Council to
protect Gaza as it does Libya

Published: 03.22.11, 22:31 / Israel News
Ynetnews.com

Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh has called on the United Nations Security Council to protect the Palestinian people the same way it is protecting Libya. He has also asked Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing following "Israel's crimes."

The Paesltinians also reported that a military unit member who was injured during an IDF attack on Gaza has died. This raises the number of terrorists killed in the attack to four. (Elior Levy)

www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046354,00.html


..........


Israeli Attack on Gaza Militants
Kills 4 Civilians

By FARES AKRAM
Published: March 22, 2011
The New York Times

GAZA — An Israeli attempt to hit Palestinian militants who had fired rockets at Israel went horribly wrong on Tuesday, with mortar shells killing three youths playing soccer and a 60-year-old grandfather leaving his house.

Later, in an unrelated attack, the Israeli Air Force killed four militants in a car, all members of Islamic Jihad, the organization and the Israeli military said. The army said the men had been on their way to launch rockets at Israel.

Tuesday’s violence came amid a sharp increase in tensions along the Israel-Gaza border in recent days. Hamas has fired more than 60 rockets at Israel since Saturday, and Israeli warplanes and artillery units have carried out repeated attacks. Both sides claim they are retaliating and not seeking an escalation in the conflict, but fears of a repeat of the Israeli war here two years ago were palpable.

After rockets were fired from a citrus grove behind houses in eastern Gaza City on Tuesday afternoon, the Israelis fired mortar rounds at the source. Three shells landed on a sandy street in front of a home about half a mile from the border, killing three members of the Al-Helou family and a neighbor.

The dead were Yasser Hamed Al-Helou, 60, who was just coming out of his garden by the street, his 15-year-old grandson, a 10-year-old relative, and a 17-year-old neighbor, Mohammed Harrara. The boys had been playing soccer, witnesses said.

Two other mortar shells landed behind the house, spreading shrapnel that created fist-size holes in the walls of nearby houses. Adham abu Selmiya, an emergency services spokesman, said the Israeli attack also wounded 10 people, some of them seriously.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed regret at the deaths of civilians, adding, “It is regrettable that Hamas continues to intentionally rain down dozens of rockets on Israeli civilians even as it uses civilians as human shields.”

The Israeli military also said it regretted the loss of civilian life and placed the blame on Hamas. “We do not target civilians,” Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman, said by telephone. “This was not our initiative. It was reactive.”

Colonel Leibovich said the army believed a militant was also killed in that attack. But there was no evidence of that from the hospital or neighbors.

Relatives and neighbors were unusually open about the fact that the Israeli mortar attack was an attempt to hit militants firing rockets from the nearby grove.

“We heard the sound of four mortars being fired by militants from a grove just beyond our house,” said Hassan, the older brother of Mohammed Harrara. “A few minutes later, the Israeli shells landed in the area.”

Hamas appears to have ended a two-year cease-fire that had held since the three-week Israeli military operation in Gaza ended in early 2009. But it was unclear if policy had shifted; there have been signs of a rift between Hamas’s hard-line military wing and the government, which may have led to the escalation. Hamas statements have said the recent attacks are a response to “ongoing Israeli crimes.”

Abu Obaida, a spokesman for the military wing, told reporters on Tuesday that his men “cannot be deterred” by Israeli attacks. He said Hamas respected the cease-fire with Israel and had tried to enforce it, but that “the resistance cannot control itself forever.” He added that if Israel stopped its attacks on Gaza, Hamas would hold back as well.

Overnight on Monday, Israeli F-16s carried out eight airstrikes, hitting a Hamas training camp, a brick factory, a metal workshop and a mechanic’s garage. Local reports said that at least five people, including a woman and two children, sustained moderate injuries.

Ethan Bronner contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/world/middleeast/23gaza.html?src=twrhp

[ninathedog]

UN's Serry condemns
killing of civilians in Gaza

Published today 22:15
Ma'an News Agency

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- The UN's envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry on Tuesday condemned Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza.

On Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli tank fired at a family playing football outside their home in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City.

The Israeli military said it regretted harm to innocent civilians, but blamed Hamas, who it said operated in civilian areas.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Serry condemned the attack and expressed concern at the escalating situation in Gaza and southern Israel.

"Serry condemns the killing of three Palestinian children and their uncle and the wounding of thirteen other civilians by an Israeli tank shell in the Gaza Strip earlier today," the statement said.

"Israeli firing into densely populated areas is extremely dangerous and appalling incidents such as today's raise serious questions."

The Special Coordinator also condemned the sharp escalation in rocket fire from Gaza, which he said endangered Israeli civilians.

Gaza militants have launched a barrage of projectiles at Israeli forces operating in the coastal enclave and across the border.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said two Israeli civilians were lightly injured by mortar fire from Gaza on Saturday.

Serry said the UN was working urgently to prevent any further escalation, and called for "an urgent halt to all acts of violence and full respect of international humanitarian law by all parties before more civilian lives are lost."

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371419&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[ninathedog]

Gaza TV News
‎***** BREAKING NEWS *****

Reports are coming in of a fresh wave of air strikes by Israel in northern Gaza.
These attacks follow the murder of 9 Palestinians today, including 3 children who were playing football.

(Gaza TV News via Facebook)

[ninathedog]

The following report is from NPR in the U.S.

Listening to NPR news reports since late last night and after 10 am this morning, I was very disheartened to hear not a word about the children killed by Israeli airstrikes yesterday in Gaza. It was reported only that there had been an explosion in Jerusalem and numerous Israelis wounded. The really sad thing is that the People of Gaza will suffer for this attack — this is the pattern that Israel follows. My cynical side is screaming that it was an attack by Israel upon its own people to generate support for further air strikes on Gaza. I don't want to think this way but the pattern here doesn't fit with militant Palestinian attacks. No one has taken responsibility and normally a militant Palestinian group is eager to do so. Also, the bomb was not carried by a person committing suicide. I don't want to be cynical and think that a country would attack its own People, but the pattern doesn't fit with past Palestinian attacks. This is my non-professional observation.

Bomb Explodes At Jerusalem
Bus Stop

March 23, 2011
by NPR Staff and Wires
NPR.org

A bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop Wednesday in central Jerusalem, reportedly killing one person and wounding more than 20 others.

Israeli authorities blamed the attack on Palestinian militants, although no one claimed responsibility for the bombing, the first in Jerusalem in years.

"We are talking about a terror attack," said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.


Israeli paramedics and emergency workers rushed to the scene of an explosion outside
Jerusalem's central bus station on Wednesday.

Israel's public security minister, Yitzhak Aharonovich, told Channel 2 TV that the bomb was about four pounds and was planted in a small bag on the sidewalk. He said security services were on alert for additional attacks.

State-run Israel Radio said a woman died from the blast, while the country's national rescue service said more than 20 people were injured.

The leaders of the Western-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank condemned the deadly bombing. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad denounced it in "the strongest terms," while President Mahmoud Abbas, traveling in Russia, issued a similar statement.

In the U.S. , President Obama expressed condolences for the victims of the bombing and for a Palestinian family killed by an errant Israeli missile strike Tuesday in the Gaza Strip.

"There is never any possible justification for terrorism," Obama said in a statement. "The United States calls on the groups responsible to end these attacks at once and we underscore that Israel, like all nations, has a right to self-defense. (But Palestine, because it is not recognized as a nation by the United States, has no right to self-defense.) We also express our deepest condolences for the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza yesterday. "

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reported that the blast echoed through Jerusalem. Ambulances rushed to the scene and emergency workers carried away the wounded — many of them bloody and unconscious — on stretchers.

The blast ripped through several crowded buses at the entrance to the city. The explosion hit at the beginning of rush hour, and the area was crowded with commuters.

Meir Hagid, one of the bus drivers, told The Associated Press that he heard a loud explosion as he drove by the site, located near the main entrance to Jerusalem and its central bus station.

"I heard the explosion in the bus stop," Hagid said, adding that he stopped his vehicle and people got off. He said nobody on his bus was hurt.

Jerusalem's police chief, Aharon Franco, said there were no firm leads but authorities were investigating a possible link to a small bombing earlier this month that wounded a garbage collector as he removed the device from a trash can.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately postponed a planned visit to Russia.

In the Gaza Strip, the Islamic Jihad militant group, which has carried out dozens of attacks, said it was not connected to the blast. But spokesman Khader Habib said the group "applauds all efforts to respond to the crimes committed daily against our people."

Tensions have been rising in the region in recent months. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is at a complete standstill, Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired rockets into Israel in the past few days.

Jerusalem suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants during the second Palestinian uprising last decade. But the attacks have halted in recent years. Jerusalem last experienced a suicide bombing in 2004.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reported from Jerusalem for this story, which contains material from The Associated Press.

www.npr.org/2011/03/23/134789285/bomb-explodes-at-jerusalem-bus-stop

[ninathedog]

Egypt warns Israel against
military action in Gaza

Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:38pm GMT
Reuters, Africa

CAIRO, March 23 (Reuters) - Israel should not rush into carrying out any military operations in Gaza, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby said in a statement on Wednesday.

Elaraby "asked Israel to exercise self restraint and warned it against rushing into a military operation in Gaza".

He also warned others -- an apparent reference to Palestinian groups -- from giving Israel any excuse to use violence, adding that Egypt rejected and condemned violence against civilians.

Israel has launched air strikes and shelling in the Gaza Strip from where militants have increased the firing of rockets into Israel in recent days.

(Writing and reporting by Marwa Awad)

© Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved

FAIR USE NOTICE: May contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.

[ninathedog]

Gaza TV News
‎***** BREAKING NEWS *****

Israeli troops have now invaded northern Gaza, and are currently going from house to house. The sky is buzzing with armed Drones who have been in the air for hours, accompanied by Apache helicopters. The situation in Gaza is very tense, and the people are fearing the worst tonight.

(Gaza TV News via Facebook)

[ninathedog]

Gaza TV News
‎***** BREAKING NEWS *****

F16 attacked have now been reported in Gaza. Several loud explosions have rocked the Rafah area in the past 10 minutes. Appache helicopters are also in the sky over Gaza City.

(Gaza TV News via Facebook)

[satchmo]

True News: The Unreported Facts About Libya