Day 16 of the War, Sunday, January 11, 2009

Day 16 of the Gaza War, Sunday, January 11, 2009 -- Daily sticky post, constantly updated.

More liveblogging at IsraellyCool and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/muqata Keyword #GazaWar

Note: Using the "Refresh" (F5 key) command in your Web Browser will show you the latest updates -- Refresh on an Apple/Mac is apple+R.

Please say a prayer for the safety of our soldiers.

Additional New posts from today can be found below this post.

As a general rule we will try and keep operational details to a minimum, that includes troop movements and the exact location of rocket hits. If items are reported in the Mainstream Israeli Media we will report them as well.

9:48 PM Feedback Request: What do you think of a daily roundup in audio format? Drop us an email (muqata @ gmail . com) or leave a comment. OK, I really have to leave now. bye.

--Jameel

9:47 PM UN Forces in South Lebanon prevent terror attack against them (Italian troops). Reported by Future TV, source.

9:39 PM Fine, a few more posts before I run.

Over 10,000 demonstrate in NYC on behalf of Israel.

(photo, courtesy of HonestlyFrum)

9:29 PM Notice, Duty Calls.

Due to the overwhelming stress on Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah volunteers that are responding to emergency calls 24/7 for the past 16 days in Southern Israel...I've been called in to do a volunteer ambulance night shift tonight in Central Israel to replace other drivers who are down South.

Therefore, I wont be updating through tomorrow morning. Hopefully either JoeSettler, Litvshe, or someone from the Muqata crew will be able to handle the Muqata night shift.

Wishing you all a good evening (and hoping I get some sleep).

See you tomorrow,

Jameel

8:29 PM IDF starting to send reserve units into combat roles in Gaza, not only standing army units.

8:27 PM Ehud Ya'ari (Channel 2 news): Hamas in Gaza ready for unconditional ceasefire. Clear break between leadership in Gaza and Damascus.

8:25 PM Sirens in Ashkelon and Ofakim. Rocket falls in Ashkelon. No report of injuries.

6:43 PM IDF warnings - terror alert of possible kidnapping attempts against Israeli civilians in the Shomron region of the West Bank.

6:40 PM The air raid sirens from 6:14 PM were the warning for a rocket that landed in a Western Negev community. No injuires.

6:36 PM Channel 10, Israel TV (Alon Ben David) reports that apparently, Hamas has started using the SA-7 anti-aircraft missiles against IAF helicopters. (We reported last week on Thursday, 10:10 PM that IAF planes had picked up the radio signatures of SA-7...and now their use has started)

6:34 PM A Reporter on FOX refuses to accept Palestinian propaganda and outright lies. Watch this short, but excellent video clip.

6:24 This morning, a Grad rocket fell outside the Chabad House in Be'er Sheva. All this damage -- no injuries. (credit: Chabad on Line)

6:23 PM No reports of any rockets falling in Gaza surrounding communities. (Perhaps it was a false alarm? Still checking)

6:14 PM Air Raid sirens in all Gaza surrounding communities. Details to follow.

6:03 PM My Blogger pal, and brother-in-arms (we train with the the same IDF unit), the ubiquitous DoubleTapper was just called up on an emergency Tzav-8 IDF reserves order to report down south. Wishing him lots of luck -- you know what to do.

I promised I'd give him a link on the blog, since his traffic will go down...now that he wont be able to blog for a while (being down south). Go help a drafted reserve IDF officer blogger, and take a peek at his blog.

Thanks,
Jameel.

5:38 PM Additional IAF air strikes on going at this time at the Philidephi corridor against Hamas smuggling tunnels.

5:34 PM Additional photos from Pro-Israel rally today in London (photo credit: David Shaw)






5:18 PM IDF Censor releases for publication; About an hour ago, Gunfire from Syria directed at Israelis at workers in the area of the village of Alonei HaBashan on the Golan Heights. Israel has raised a formal complaint with the UN. No injuries reported.

5:10 PM Channel 10, Israel TV: Increase in gun battles over the last hour in Gaza between IDF forces and Hamas.

4:53 PM Photos from Pro-Israel rally at Trafalgar Square in London. (photo credit: Skaj)








3:49 PM Rockets on their way to Ashdod, Ashkelon.

3:46 PM IDF Officer explains the situation to Arabs...in Arabic (with English subtitles)



hat-tip Jewish Odysseus blog, which also located a video on youtube which corroborates the email received earlier today from Sebastian...and you see the Israeli flag being removed, and the pro-Hamas crowd cheering.

3:45 PM Rockets on their way to Western Negev Kibbutzim.

3:44 PM Good News from Israel -- we've been blessed with a downpour of rain in Jerusalem the past few hours, despite the weather forecast to the opposite.

3:38 PM Video of IDF paratrooper officer with BBC (hat-tip; thunderpig, yes that is his blog's name :)




3:13 PM 2 rockets land in empty areas around S'derot.

2:50 PM Reports coming in that Israeli Air Force is currently hitting targets in Rafiach, S. Gaza.

12:44 PM US Government sending 325 containers of weapons and ammunition to Israel.

The U.S. military has sought to hire a merchant ship to deliver ammunition to Israel this month, tender documents show, but the Pentagon said the shipment was not linked to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

A Pentagon spokesman said the ammunition was for a U.S. stockpile in Israel. The U.S. military pre-positions stockpiles in some countries in case it needs supplies at short notice.

In the tender documents, the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC) said the ship was to carry 325 standard 20-foot containers of what is listed as "ammunition" on two separate journeys from the Greek port of Astakos to the Israeli port of Ashdod in mid-to-late January. (Ha'aretz)

Here's the US government website entry that tracks the cargo ship.

hat-tip: scoop @ rotter.

12:20 PM Reports of heavy artillery fire pounding Northern Gaza.

12:19 PM Rocket fired on Ashkelon about 15 minutes ago falls in open area. No injuries.

11:21 AM Some more combat pictures... (h/t Rotter)







10:49 AM IDF Spotters (tatzpitaniyot) also killing Hamas terrorists...by remote. Read about here at agmk, the Lion of Zion.

10:35 AM BREAKING NEWS. Phase 3 of the attack on Hamas may have begun with tanks moving into Gaza neighborhoods.

10:08 AM 10 Hamas terrorists killed in planned IDF ambush, with dozens wounded over night in the Sheikh Ag'lin neighborhood, (Eastern Gaza City)

9:55 AM IDF findings say that 1 of the 3 mortars launched against an active Palestinian rocket crew hit the UNWRA building by accident. Hamas terrorists were launching rockets immediately adjacent to the UNWRA building. 2 of the mortar directly hit and eliminated 2 members of the rocket crew, one mortar traveled slightly too far (within the mortars standard margin of error) and hit the building.

9:50 AM Cabinet considering expanding Gaza operation even further. IDF wants to continue operations until at least the end of January.

9:43 AM Rocket strike on Be'er Sheva reported earlier hit a car and 5 civilians in shock. Home Front command noting the drop in rocket attacks from Palestinian terrorists.

9:41 AM Nothing to report just yet...

9:14 AM Channel 2 news reporting large exchanges of fire this morning. No injuries on the good guy's side. 45 Palestinians terrorists killed.

9:09 AM Rockets hit Netivot area. No injuries, no damage.

8:57 AM Air Force hits the house of Achmed Jabari, the Hamas "Chief of Staff". No reports if Jabari was home.

7:48 AM Rockets launched at Beer Sheva - strikes in 3 locations, no injuries.


1:36 AM OK - one last post for now.

The army said it has dropped fliers throughout Gaza today, as a “general warning.”

“In the near future, the IDF will continue to attack tunnels, arms caches, and terror activists with greater intensity all across the Strip. For your safety and the safety of your families, you are required to refrain from staying near terror elements or sites where weapons are being stored,” the leaflet read.

(photo; AP)

1:23 AM I'm off to bed. Will continue our coverage early in the AM, Israel time.

Good night from Israel,

Jameel and Crew.
The Muqata

PS: For those of you joining the Muqata this evening, you can see the reports from Saturday evening in the post below this one)


1:16 AM Received from Muqata Blog Reader in Germany, Sebastian M.

Today, 10.000 people demonstrated against Israel here in my hometown Duisburg (Germany) and to express their solidarity with Hamas. So, my girlfriend and me put two Israel flags out of the windows of our flat in the 3rd floor. During the demonstration which went through our street the police broke into our flat and removed the flag of Israel. The statement of the police was to de-escalate the situation, because many youth demonstrators were on the brink of breaking into our apartment house. Before this they threw snowballs, knifes and stones against our windows and the complete building. We both were standing on the other side of the street and were shocked by seeing a police officer standing in our bedroom and opening the window to get the flag. The picture illustrate this situation. The police acquiesced in the demands of the mob.

1:07 AM Where's the Iranian "Humanitarian Aid" Ship?

It was supposed to have arrived today in Gaza...anyone have an update?

(We know it won't have 70,000 suicide bomber volunteers on it -- that plan was scrapped last Thursday.)

Iranian Press TV reported:

"An Iranian aid ship, destined for Palestinians, has reportedly entered Egyptian waters and scheduled to dock at the port of Gaza on Saturday.

According to IRIB, the ship, with 2000 tons of "humanitarian aid", passed through the Suez Canal and will head for Gaza "After obtaining needed permissions".

So where is it?

12:58 AM NYTimes: Bush Rejected Israeli Request for Bunker-Busting Bombs last year...

WASHINGTON — President Bush deflected a secret request by Israel last year for specialized bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran’s main nuclear complex and told the Israelis that he had authorized new covert action intended to sabotage Iran’s suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, according to senior American and foreign officials.

12:26 AM Pope Benedict XVI's top official on issues of peace and justice, said in the interview that Gaza now resembles a "big concentration camp." (IHT)

JERUSALEM: Israel said Saturday it was shocked and distressed by a senior Vatican cardinal's likening of Gaza under Israel's military offensive to a concentration camp.

A spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry said the cardinal, whose remarks appeared in an interview Wednesday, adopted the kind of language that Hamas and other Islamic militant groups have used to demonize Israel and equate it with Nazi Germany.

"It was shocking to hear the same kind of terminology from such a high-ranking member of the church," Israeli spokesman Yigal Palmor said Saturday.

Cardinal Renato Martino, a former Vatican envoy to the United Nations and now Pope Benedict XVI's top official on issues of peace and justice, said in the interview that Gaza now resembles a "big concentration camp."

Perhaps the Cardinal and Pope should pay a visit to Sderot and Ashkelon? Interesting how this dovetails with the pro-Hamas rally in LA, who cheered for Hitler and yelled "Put the Jews in the oven".


12:19 AM Halad Mashaal, the Political Chairman of Hamas, announced from an armchair in Damascus, Syria - safely away from Gaza:

No Egyptian Cease Fire Proposal
No International peacekeeping force in Gaza
No Inspection of the numerous smuggling tunnels in Gaza by international observers

And to think how many people are demonstrating on his behalf around the world. So many crazies...

Source; ynetnews

12:07 AM Pro-Hamas, Pro-Terror Riot in London -- rioters clash with London Police



Read more of the story, with more photos at GatewayPundit. He also has an interesting round up of the Pro-Hamas, Pro-Terror Lunatics in LA, who cheered for Hitler and yelled "Put the Jews in the oven!" (they were across the street from a Pro-Israel rally)



12:02 AM Thanks for all the [nice] shout outs from our commenters, and wonderful emails you've been sending (and thanks to those of you who sent in donations to us...and those of you who have been supporting our sponsors.)

12:01 AM It's a new day! Will Hamas raise the white flag today?

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