A Grad rocket landed in Beersheva on Thursday afternoon, causing injuries. Two people were seriously injured. A rocket landed directly on a car.
About ten rockets werefired into Israeli cities from Gaza this morning. Most landed in open areas, and there are no reports of injuries. One Kassam rocket landed in the garden of a house in Sderot, causing damage.
Last night, about 11 IDF soldiers were wounded lightly in battles against Hamas in Gaza. The IDF reported 35 Hamas fighters killed in the fighting. During the night, the Israeli Air Force hit about 70 targets in Gaza, including fourteen cells of armed gunmen, fourteen sites used to launch rockets and mortars, five weapon storage facilities located in houses of Hamas operatives, and a tunnel located under the house of a Hamas operative.
Diplomatic attempts to reach a ceasefire intensified, with efforts centering on an Egyptian proposal.
Ambassador Gabriela Shalev, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, addressed the UN Security Council yesterday, and explained that Hamas soldiers who fired rockets at Israel fired from schools, stored rockets in mosques, and hid as doctors in Gaza's Shifa hospital. Addressing Shalev asked, "What kind of person, we must ask, uses hospitals to cower behind injured civilians? The answer, Mr. President, is the same: Hamas terrorists."
Shalev concluded, "Hamas’ despicable and cynical use of targeting civilians is an appalling example of the toll terrorism takes on all civilians. When civilized people look at children, they see the future. When terrorists look at children, they see targets and human shields. This council must offer no refuge to those who drag civilians into armed conflicts."
Israel's Ministry of Defense said that the Humanitarian Pause in the fighting would be extended for an additional hour from today, and that it was scheduled to take place daily, following talks between the government's joint humanitarian coordination center (JHCC) and commanders in the field.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 15, 2009
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