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World Jewish News
Olmert: Israel is 'nearing Gaza goals'
11.01.2009
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said Israel is nearing the goals of its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, as he signalled it would continue.
He urged more patience and effort, as Israel's troops reportedly engaged in fierce fighting in Gaza City.
Palestinian medical sources say 29 people were killed across Gaza on Sunday - 17 in Gaza City.
Israeli officials say at least 12 rockets have been fired by Palestinian militants into southern Israel.
Palestinian doctors say the total number of Palestinians who have been killed since the Israeli offensive began on 27 December is 879. Thirteen Israelis - 10 soldiers and three civilians - have died.
'Nobody should be allowed to decide for us'
As Israel's cabinet met in Jerusalem to consider its next move, Prime Minister Olmert said: "This is a time to translate our achievements into the goals we have set.
He praised the military's "impressive gains " in Gaza, adding: "Israel is nearing the goals which it set itself, but more patience, determination and effort is still demanded."
Referring to last week's UN Security Council call for an immediate ceasefire, Mr Olmert said "nobody should be allowed to decide for us if we are allowed to strike." Both Hamas and Israel have rejected the UN resolution.
The BBC's Mike Sergeant in Jerusalem says the military operation could well intensify before it ends.
Phosphorus controversy
The Israeli army meanwhile denied deploying white phosphorus bombs in Gaza, after Palestinian medics said they had treated patients for burns caused by the munition.
Army spokesman Capt Guy Spigelman told the BBC that Israel "categorically denied" using white phosphorus in Gaza, saying other "smoke bombs and flares" were being deployed.
On Sunday militants fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza, two of which struck 42 km (26 miles) inside southern Israel at the city of Beersheba, causing damage but no casualties.
In clashes in Gaza City, at least 10 Palestinians died in a gun battle involving Israeli forces, while at least five Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli tank fire further north at Beit Lahiya, said medical officials.
The home of Ahmed Jabari, the head of Hamas's military wing, was destroyed in an air strike at Shujaia, a suburb of densely-populated Gaza City, according to the Israeli military.
Israel is preventing international journalists from entering the coastal strip, and none of the incidents can be independently confirmed.
Speaking from exile in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal branded the Israeli operation a "holocaust," saying "the enemy has totally failed" and "created resistance in every house."
Источник: BBC.NEWS
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