Israel Strikes Gaza Targets as Hamas Says It Is Ending Attacks

[Violet_Crumble]

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Israel conducted air strikes against targets in Gaza early today as Hamas, the biggest Palestinian militant group, said it will stop the rocket attacks that had prompted the Israeli reprisals.

Israeli helicopters attacked buildings in Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian witnesses said today. Palestinian hospital officials said one woman was wounded. The attacks came after Hamas said late yesterday that it will stop firing home-made Qassam rockets at Israeli targets.

``Keeping our commitments to the Cairo agreement and the highest interests of our people as well as to our promise to stop open displays of arms, we have decided to halt all our military operations in the Gaza Strip,'' Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas official, said at a press conference around midnight yesterday.

The violence, which began three days ago, after Israeli forces killed three Islamic Jihad militants in a West Bank shootout, is the first on a large scale since Israel completed the evacuation of its Gaza settlers. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who pushed through the withdrawal plan over the opposition of many in his cabinet and Likud Party, faces a party vote today on whether to schedule early primary elections.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ajL3hq67..zw&refer=top_world_news

[bemildred]

1. We seem to have had a change of heart here.

Haaretz has changed the story, and I'm not going to hunt
it up, but a day or so ago we had a story about Hamas vowing
attacks "in every spot" in response to the airstrikes. It
can't but be a good thing that they have thought better of
that.

[bemildred]

2. Ah, and IJ disagrees. "We can speak only of war".

Sigh.

[pelsar]

3. what happened?

let me get this straight..hamas launches 40 missles at israel...before israel really gets its reprisal going..hamas "screams" ceasefire cease fire....

anything strange about that scenario?

[bemildred]

4. Hey, elsewhere Israel is bombing vacant lots as a "deterrent".

And you want ME to explain it?

[bemildred]

5. It doesn't sound like this is a short term thing:

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said at yesterday's cabinet meeting that he had ordered Israeli forces to use all means at their disposal to hit terrorists without harming non-combatants. "This is not a short-term action and not just in Gaza," Sharon said. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said the IDF's deterrent actions would "set a price for injuring Israeli citizens."

And it was clear way back when the Gaza withdrawal was first announced
that "security" in Gaza after the pullout would be a big issue, lots of
threats were made even back then.