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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel destroyed the homes of more than a dozen Hamas operatives and bombed one of its mosques on Friday, the seventh day of a blistering offensive in Gaza and the day after a deadly strike killed a prominent Hamas figure.

In what appeared to be a new Israeli tactic, the military called at least some of the houses ahead of time to warn inhabitants of an impending attack. In some cases, it also fired a sound bomb to warn away civilians before flattening the homes with powerful missiles, Palestinians and Israeli defense officials said.

Israel launched the aerial campaign last Saturday in a bid to halt weeks of intensifying Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza. The offensive has dealt a heavy blow to Hamas, but has failed to halt the rocket fire. New attacks Friday struck apartment buildings in a southern Israeli city. No serious injuries were reported.

After destroying Hamas' security compounds, Israel has turned its attention to the group's leadership.

In airstrike after airstrike early Friday, Israeli warplanes hit some 20 houses believed to belong to Hamas militants and members of other armed groups, Palestinians said.

They said the Israelis either warned nearby residents by phone or fired a warning missile to reduce civilian casualties. Israeli planes also dropped leaflets east of Gaza giving a confidential phone number and e-mail address for people to report locations of rocket squads. Residents stepped over the leaflets.

Israel used similar tactics during its 2006 war in Lebanon.

Most of the targeted homes Friday belonged to activist leaders and appeared to be empty at the time, but one man was killed in a strike that flattened a building in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

More than 400 Gazans have been killed and some 1,700 have been wounded in the Israeli campaign, Gaza health officials said. The number of combatants and civilians killed is unclear, but Hamas has said around half of the dead are members of its security forces and the U.N. has said more than 60 are civilians, 34 of them children.

Three Israeli civilians and one soldier have also died in the rocket attacks, which have reached deeper into Israel than ever before, bringing an eighth of Israel's population of 7 million within rocket range.

The mosque destroyed Friday was known as a Hamas stronghold, and the army said it was used to store weapons. Hamas has boasted that more than 100 of the mosque's worshippers have been killed in the past on missions against Israelis.

It also was identified with Nizar Rayan, the Hamas militant leader killed Thursday when Israel dropped a one-ton bomb on his home. The explosion killed 20 people, including all four of Rayan's wives and 10 of his children.

The strike on Rayan's home obliterated the four-story apartment building and peeled off the walls of others around it, carving out a vast field of rubble.

Rayan, 49, ranked among Hamas' top five decision-makers. A professor of Islamic law, he was known for his close ties to the group's military wing and was respected in Gaza for donning combat fatigues and personally participating in clashes against Israeli forces. He sent one of his sons on an October 2001 suicide mission that killed two Israeli settlers in Gaza.

Israel's military said the homes of Hamas leaders are being used to store missiles and other weapons, and the hit on Rayan's house triggered secondary explosions from the stockpile there.

Israeli defense officials said the military had called Rayan's home and fired a warning missile before destroying the building. That was impossible to confirm. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss military tactics.

Israel has targeted Hamas leaders many times in the past, but halted the practice during a six-month truce that expired last month.

Most of Hamas' leaders went into hiding at the start of Israel's offensive. Rayan, however, was known for openly defying Israel and in the past had led crowds to the homes of wanted Hamas figures — as if daring Israel to strike and risk the lives of civilians.

The offensive has not halted rocket fire at Israel, and a barrage landed in the city of Ashkelon early Friday. Two rockets hit apartment buildings, lightly wounding one man, police said. Sirens warning Israelis to take cover when military radar picks up an incoming rocket have helped reduce casualties in recent days.

The military said aircraft destroyed the three rocket launchers used to fire at Ashkelon.

Israel has been building up artillery, armor and infantry on Gaza's border in an indication the punishing air assault could expand with a ground incursion. At the same time, international pressure is building for a cease-fire that would block more fighting.

Israel appears to be offering an opening for the intense diplomatic efforts, saying it would consider a halt to the fighting if international monitors were brought in to track compliance with any truce with Hamas.

Concerned about protests, Israeli police said they would step up security and restrict access to Friday prayers at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque. Devout Muslims attend large, communal prayers on Fridays.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said thousands of police would be deployed throughout the city, and that only Palestinian men over the age of 50, along with women of all ages, would be permitted to enter. He also said that police were in contact with Muslim leaders to ensure things remain quiet.

The army also imposed a closure on the West Bank, barring nearly all of the area's more than 2 million Palestinians from entering Israel.

Are we lookin at the prelude to a full-scale war? What a horrible way to start a new year!

kay9:



In what appeared to be a new Israeli tactic, the military called at least some of the houses ahead of time to warn inhabitants of an impending attack. In some cases, it also fired a sound bomb to warn away civilians before flattening the homes with powerful missiles, Palestinians and Israeli defense officials said.

well how come hamas does not warn Israel b4 it launches it rockets

Hamas leadership does not like there people that are suffering now. All this is for there own self interest. How can they win a war when Israel has more weapon and international support.

Diplomacy is a better way to handle the matter than allowing Israel to slaughter the people.

Naijex:

Hamas leadership does not like there people that are suffering now. All this is for there own self interest. How can they win a war when Israel has more weapon and international support.

Diplomacy is a better way to handle the matter than allowing Israel to slaughter the people.

Then, why would Israel pursue a military campaign that slaughters civilians?

When Hitler was slaughtering Jews the world cried "foul"! Today, Jews are slaughtering Arabs and it's okay?

Then, why would Israel pursue a military campaign that slaughters civilians?

Why would Hamas too target mainly Israeli civilians? You keep complaining about Gaza civilians but I am waiting for the day you would realise that the peole being killed in Israel by rockets to have a right to live and are civilians as well.

If Hamas love their civilians, let them gather their army and march towards the Israeli border and face the IDF man to man not hiding in Creches and launching rockets at Israel.

this is propaganda and misinformation, using the same picture and news to report different events that never happened.

otokx:

this is propaganda and misinformation, using the same picture and news to report different events that never happened.

Even when Israeli defense officials say so?

Hamas and Co should expect more of this destructions. Afterall, they started it first. Kudos to the Israelis.

dayokanu:

Why would Hamas too target mainly Israeli civilians? You keep complaining about Gaza civilians but I am waiting for the day you would realise that the peole being killed in Israel by rockets to have a right to live and are civilians as well.

If Hamas love their civilians, let them gather their army and march towards the Israeli border and face the IDF man to man not hiding in Creches and launching rockets at Israel.

my brother pls ignore that walking cesspool of anti-semitism called RichyBlack. Did he also inform his deluded readers that Rayyan recieved a warning call from the IDF a good 10 minutes before his house was bombed to leave?

Where was Richy when a jewish woman was killed by Grad rockets trying to run for her life? Perhaps the term "civilian" is strictly palestinian.

the moslem world no get level. they are relying on public sympathy to stop the war. this is fiht 2 finish. more gaza ppl will die in this war the only hope is to beg egypt to open its boader so they can hide there. hamaz will be crumbled,

davidylan:

my brother please ignore that walking cesspool of anti-semitism called RichyBlack. Did he also inform his deluded readers that Rayyan recieved a warning call from the IDF a good 10 minutes before his house was bombed to leave?

Where was Richy when a jewish woman was killed by Grad rockets trying to run for her life? Perhaps the term "civilian" is strictly palestinian.

When one criticizes Zionist hypocrites like Davidylan, they scream "antisemitism"!

This issue is a matter of scale!

If the Nazis had killed five Jews, there would have been no Holocaust! What made the Holocaust significant was the scale of killings! About six million Jews were killed by the Nazis. It is that large figure that made the killings significant. When discussing human suffering, the scale of such suffering is the most important parameter. Can Davidylan get this simple concept into that lob of goo within his cranium?

Yes, Hamas has killed 4 or 5 Israelis with glorified fireworks. Yes, those Israelis are innocent civilians and their demise must be condemned by all!

However, killing 500 Palestinians is a massacre! Only hypocrites will consider the scale of killings when Jews are targeted but ignore the scale when Palestinians/Arabs are targeted!

dayokanu:

Why would Hamas too target mainly Israeli civilians? You keep complaining about Gaza civilians but I am waiting for the day you would realise that the peole being killed in Israel by rockets to have a right to live and are civilians as well.

If Hamas love their civilians, let them gather their army and march towards the Israeli border and face the IDF man to man not hiding in Creches and launching rockets at Israel.

Either you completely lack any understanding of numbers, or you simply feign ignorance of the role of numbers in determining human suffering!

Don't you realize that 500 divided by 4 = 125? In order words, 500 is two orders of magnitude larger than 4 or 5!

Numbers play a critical role in estimating the scale of human suffering in any given locale.

All the rockets Hamas shot in six months killed 1 or 2 Israelis. And within the same period  (before this current massacre) Israel killed about 20 Palestinians. Since the current Israeli mass murder, nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed and 2 or 3 Israelis have been killed.

You cannot ignore numbers when intelligently discussing the casualties and consequences of any war!

the greatest mistake hamas made was to shot rockets to kill jews thinking that equal no of hamas members will be killed but they are now rrealising that the ratio is far more what they imagined and they are suffering heavy losses, so if the rockets keep flying more hamas people will die i a much more ratio.
it is suprising that the arab league cannot even cone oiut any mininful statement or plan to help the palestinian people. what a pity. why cant egypt open its boarders so that the people can take refuge there but they are closing there boarders and claming to be moslem brothers what kind of brothers are these egypt slf,

@Richyblack,
Its either you are very ignorant or mischievous. Like I asked earlier when did warfare become a mathematical equation. Because Hamas rockets killed 6 people means israel too should select 6 people to kill?

Tell me where that happened in history?

The killing of Archduke Ferdinand sparked the world war that killed millions in the first world war why did the killing of a man sparked the killing of millions.

Check the Russia vs georgia impasse and tell me what was proportionate about that.

The moment you strike first, then you should be able to go all the way

However, killing 500 Palestinians is a massacre! Only hypocrites will consider the scale of killings when Jews are targeted but ignore the scale when Palestinians/Arabs are targeted!

I don't call that a massacre. I call it a public service.
The vast majority of those "400 Palestinians" (you added an extra hundred on) were Hamas terrorists.

Only a terrorist sympathiser would keep bleating about "the scale of Palestinian deaths".

Personally, I couldn't care less about any "civilian" deaths either. The liberal windbags are always telling us how Hamas is a "democratically elected government". If that's the case, the Palestinians voted to go to war with Israel. They voted for a party whose avowed intent and very reason for being is the destruction of Israel. Now the chickens are coming home to roost, they act like the victim when all the time, they've been the aggressor.
Sympathy? Not me. Let the Palestinians reap what they sow.

dayokanu:

@Richyblack,
Its either you are very ignorant or mischievous. Like I asked earlier when did warfare become a mathematical equation. Because Hamas rockets killed 6 people means israel too should select 6 people to kill?

Tell me where that happened in history?

The killing of Archduke Ferdinand sparked the world war that killed millions in the first world war why did the killing of a man sparked the killing of millions.

Check the Russia vs georgia impasse and tell me what was proportionate about that.

The moment you strike first, then you should be able to go all the way

FYI: Warfare has always and still is governed by mathematical equations! See [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanchester%27s_laws]Lanchester's Laws[/url]

You sight WW I, true it escalated from the assassination of one man as you pointed out, but, are you saying that such an escalation was inevitable?

We humans determine the level of escalation a military campaign can attain; the Israelis can deescalate the human suffering if they choose to.

Israel is killing civilians and they can stop it if they want to.

Israel is killing civilians and they can stop it if they want to.

That's a stupid comment.
As your Hamas terrorist friends hide behinds the local population, Israel can only avoid the risk of hitting civilians by ceasing all operations.

Bastage:

I don't call that a massacre. I call it a public service.
The vast majority of those "400 Palestinians" (you added an extra hundred on) were Hamas terrorists.

Only a terrorist sympathiser would keep bleating about "the scale of Palestinian deaths".

Personally, I couldn't care less about any "civilian" deaths either. The liberal windbags are always telling us how Hamas is a "democratically elected government". If that's the case, the Palestinians voted to go to war with Israel. They voted for a party whose avowed intent and very reason for being is the destruction of Israel. Now the chickens are coming home to roost, they act like the victim when all the time, they've been the aggressor.
Sympathy? Not me. Let the Palestinians reap what they sow.

Look at this man.

If Nelson Mandela can been called a terrorist by those who derived joy in seeing Black children gunned down in Soweto, I am infinitely happy to be called a "terrorist sympathizer"! I will add it as part of my name - RichyBlack the terrorist sympathizer.


When racists in America and Zionists in the middle-east want to label anyone who fights against their policies of oppression, subjugation, intimidation and occupation, they call them "terrorists".

You think that word scares me? You must be a joke! Instead of calling me a "terrorist sympathizer" why not just go all the way and call me a terrorist! What are you waiting for?

Let me put it in words that even a slowpoke like you can understand.

You shoot at me and my family, I shoot back at you and your family.
Whining because I'm more powerful than you is the act of an idiot.
You don't want me to shoot at you? Then stop shooting at me.
It's as simple as that.

But Jew-haters like you don't want to see the truth, do they Richie? Don't kid yourself, you're not a terrorist. You wouldn't have the balls. You're a terrorist sympathiser. One of the cowards who shouts hatred and lies from the sidelines.

dayokanu:

@Richyblack,
Its either you are very ignorant or mischievous. Like I asked earlier when did warfare become a mathematical equation. Because Hamas rockets killed 6 people means israel too should select 6 people to kill?
Tell me where that happened in history?
The killing of Archduke Ferdinand sparked the world war that killed millions in the first world war why did the killing of a man sparked the killing of millions.
Check the Russia vs georgia impasse and tell me what was proportionate about that.
The moment you strike first, then you should be able to go all the way

When Russia retaliated against the Georgians most govt including the US screamed it was disproportionate. The killing of Archduke Ferdinand sparked WW1 so  did the killing of Hutu president of Rwanda. Genocide followed in the case of Rwanda, in your warped mind that was proportional.
It may surprise you but we live in a civilized world where states are accountable  for the massacre done by its soldiers. Your medieval thoughts belong in bygone era.

Bastage:

That's a stupid comment.
As your Hamas terrorist friends hide behinds the local population, Israel can only avoid the risk of hitting civilians by ceasing all operations.

Well, let them continue killing civilians then. At least, that will please people like you.

Sometime in the future, when Israel goes to war against a national force, like Russia, China, Turkey or Iran, and millions of Israelis are wiped out, I hope those alive then will remember how the Israelis enjoyed the killing of Palestinians.

They're fighting rag-tag Hamas and feeling strong. We all remember how Hezbollah dealt with those Zionists in 2006! Hezbollah is not even a national army.

Israel is weak and will only get weaker!

Bastage:

One of the cowards who shouts hatred and lies from the sidelines.

Why don't you make your way to the region?
Chicken are you there!!?

Bastage:

Let me put it in words that even a slowpoke like you can understand.

You shoot at me and my family, I shoot back at you and your family.
Whining because I'm more powerful than you is the act of an idiot.
You don't want me to shoot at you? Then stop shooting at me.
It's as simple as that.

But Jew-haters like you don't want to see the truth, do they Richie? Don't kid yourself, you're not a terrorist. You wouldn't have the balls. You're a terrorist sympathiser. One of the cowards who shouts hatred and lies from the sidelines.

Well, if you shoot at me I'll wipe out your entire family and let you live! Am I not generous?

You're just big fool with single-digit IQ.

When Hitler was killing Jews for no apparent reason just because the Nazis were strong, sensible people condemned it. But when Jews are killing Arabs, fools like you begin to talk about strength. What strength? Without American support, Israel will not exist in the middle-east today. It will probably be in Nebraska or some desolate part of the US.

It is idiots like you that want to blame Arabs for the massacre of Jews in Europe. Why punish Arabs for the sins of Europe? Hypocrites and charlatans like have no answer!

Tornadoz:

Why don't you make your way to the region?
Chicken are you there!!?

The idiot has probably gone to jerk off to images of dead Palestinians!

These Zionists are very heartless souls!

We all remember how Hezbollah dealt with those Zionists in 2006!

Yes we do, Jew-hater.
Hezbollah dealt with them by getting hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilians killed and then claiming victory.
It's amusing to see how the terrorist sympathiser changes tactic and use the death of civilians as a pointer to an Israeli defeat. One minute he's whining about the poor Palestinian civilians and the next stating that glorious Hezbollah kicked Israeli ass by starting a war which ended in suffering and death for Lebanese civilians. Hypocrite.

Sometime in the future, when Israel goes to war against a national force, like Russia, China, Turkey or Iran, and millions of Israelis are wiped out, I hope those alive then will remember how the Israelis enjoyed the killing of Palestinians.

LOL. Russia, China and Turkey are no threat to Israel. Iran is nothing but a sabre-rattling slowpoke with intentions of dominating the Middle East. If Israel attacked Iran, the Arab world would love it - they hate Iran even more than the Jews or the Yanks.
The same as Hamas. Why do you think Arab nations are quiet? It's because they loathe Hamas even more than the Israelis do. Hamas is much more of a threat to Egypt than it is to Israel. It's more of a threat to the Jordanians and the Lebanese. They love it when Israel takes Hamas to school.

But as usual, you totally miss the point. Maybe you should surf on over to www.disney.com.
It's more of a match to your IQ.

The idiot has probably gone to jerk off to images of dead Palestinians!

Nope. Images of your mother.

Bastage:


Nope. Images of your mother.

Stop abusing people's mother you coward! Is your mother a harlot? Goat.

@RichyBlack
If you want to debate with someone with a lower IQ than a dead rat then Bastage is your man.
You can take the man away from Ajegunle but sadly its nay impossible to take the Agbero from Bastard a.k.a Bastage
The guy is a schmuck and can't render civilised thoughts. Put him on ignore.

Bastage:

Yes we do, Jew-hater.
Hezbollah dealt with them by getting hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilians killed and then claiming victory.
It's amusing to see how the terrorist sympathiser changes tactic and use the death of civilians as a pointer to an Israeli defeat. One minute he's whining about the poor Palestinian civilians and the next stating that glorious Hezbollah kicked Israeli ass by starting a war which ended in suffering and death for Lebanese civilians. Hypocrite.

LOL. Russia, China and Turkey are no threat to Israel. Iran is nothing but a sabre-rattling slowpoke with intentions of dominating the Middle East. If Israel attacked Iran, the Arab world would love it - they hate Iran even more than the Jews or the Yanks.
The same as Hamas. Why do you think Arab nations are quiet? It's because they loathe Hamas even more than the Israelis do. Hamas is much more of a threat to Egypt than it is to Israel. It's more of a threat to the Jordanians and the Lebanese. They love it when Israel takes Hamas to school.

But as usual, you totally miss the point. Maybe you should surf on over to www.disney.com.
It's more of a match to your IQ.

Israel's goal in that war was to get the IDF soldiers taken hostage by Hezbollah. They ended up trading Hezbollah prisoners with IDF dead bodies. Israel failed! That's the simple point!

On this campaign, Israel will fail again! After the genocide, Hamas will remain standing. Just like Apartheid South Africa failed to destroy the ANC, Apartheid Israel will fail to destroy Hamas.

Tornadoz:

@RichyBlack
If you want to debate with someone with a lower IQ than a dead rat then Bastage is your man.
You can take the man away from Ajegunle but sadly its nay impossible to take the Agbero from Bastard a.k.a Bastage
The guy is a schmuck and can't render civilised thoughts. Put him on ignore.

Yeah, I don't think that guy finished secondary school, his reasoning is just so poor. I'm sure he is one of those Sunday-Sunday Christians that believe that God should kill all Muslims. I wonder how different such an slowpoke is from Osama bin Laden. Well, at least Osama has some guts and brains, but this Bastage fellow just an empty barrel.

And here we have the true colours of the Jew hater revealed.

Well, at least Osama has some guts and brains

Osama had guts? Guts enough to fly planes into the WTC murdering thousands of civilians?
Guts enough to fight soldiers?

No. He got other people to do that for him whilst he hid in a cave.

I'm sure he is one of those Sunday-Sunday Christians that that God should kill all Muslims.

LOL. I'm no "Christian". And I don't think God should kill all Muslims. Just the asshole terrorists and terrorist sympathisers amongst their numbers.
As the old saying goes - Not all Muslims are terrorists. But most terrorists are Muslims.

Is your mother a harlot? Goat.

Didn't you know? She used to work in the same pepper soup joint with your mother. Idiot.

FYI: Warfare has always and still is governed by mathematical equations! See Lanchester's Laws

Research the equation and tell me How many people (inluding hamas soldiers) that Israel is allowed to kill for every Rocket attack?

You sight WW I, true it escalated from the assassination of one man as you pointed out, but, are you saying that such an escalation was inevitable?
We humans determine the level of escalation a military campaign can attain; the Israelis can deescalate the human suffering if they choose to.

Why should they deescalate it when hamas continue to fire rockets. Hamas has been given the choice stop rocket fire if you want peace and hamas has continued to fire clearly stating that they prefer the IDF bombing

Israel is killing civilians and they can stop it if they want to.

Hamas is killing civilians too with their rockets and they can stop if they want to

When Russia retaliated against the Georgians most govt including the US screamed it was disproportionate. The killing of Archduke Ferdinand sparked WW1 so did the killing of Hutu president of Rwanda. Genocide followed in the case of Rwanda, in your warped mind that was proportional.
It may surprise you but we live in a civilized world where states are accountable for the massacre done by its soldiers. Your medieval thoughts belong in bygone era.

So what is my bizniz if the US calls Russians response disproportionate. In my own dictionary there is nothing called disproportionate as long as you were the first to attack. If you have the first attack, then I would have the last and the gravity is at my own discretion.

Civilised world? In which world did Russia kill Georgians? primitive war?