Israel vows to destroy Hamas brick by brick

ABC News, Australia

By Middle East correspondent Matt Brown,

Updated Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:39am AEDT

A senior Israeli military officer says Israel is striking at the entire Hamas Government in the Gaza Strip, not just terrorists and people who launch rockets into Israel.

As air attacks continued through a third day, Israel defended the death toll in Gaza and blamed Hamas for using civilians as human shields.

Israeli military's deputy chief of staff Brigadier General Dan Harel says there will not be a single Hamas building left standing in Gaza when the attack is over.

"After this operation there will not be a single Hamas building left standing in Gaza, and we plan to change the rules of the game," he told the YNet News website.

"We are hitting not only terrorists and launchers, but also the whole Hamas Government and all its wings."

Earlier Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel was in an "all-out war against Hamas and its kind."

But UN aid workers say they are deeply worried about the risks to civilians as the air strikes continue.

The United Nations says 320 people have been killed in Gaza, including 62 women and children, and around 1,400 injured.

"<The 62 figure> does not include civilian casualties who are men, even though we know that there have been some civilian men killed as well," UN humanitarian affairs co-ordinator John Holmes said.

The article continues http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/30/2456334.htm">here

It made the wrong choice.

And of course shooting off relatively ineffective fireworks, thereby inviting retaliation with actual aimable high-explosive weapons.

Israel/Hamas

And I'm sure that my friend's 15 year old daughter, who was shot three times by a Hamas AK-47 while minding her own business at a street corner, would agree with you. <spits>

But I'm sure that a Palestinian whose child is shot by Israelis while minding her own business feels just as bitter. The problem is that killing and maiming only begets killing and maiming.

But Israel's reality is that it has a neighbor whose stated goal is to annihilate Israel and who engages in activities that kill and maim Israel's citizens and destroys Israeli property.

Apparently you think Israel should do nothing to defend herself.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course.

I'm entitled to think you're being unrealistic.

but it seems to me that you are saying that Israel can only defend herself by killing all Palestinians. Otherwise it is "unrealistic"?

Israel is a sovereign state. I am not a citizen of that state, which makes a big difference.

As I see it, as long as Palestinians insist on the destruction of the State of Israel and take actions toward that end, like firing rockets at civilians, I am in no position to condemn Israelis. I don't think you're in any position to do so either.

As members of the human race

I do think the body count is a little asymmetrical, however.

Asymmetircal or not, Israeli doctors have inordinate gunshot wound and trauma experience and they managed to patch her up.

That doesn't mean this girl doesn't have mental and physical problems for the rest of her life.

This was about 2 years ago. The violence there didn't just start with Israel's invasion.

It was serious artillery and the recent rounds are reaching up to Israeli cities.

It seems Israel disagrees.

That would meant that they never really left the Gaza Strip then. :D

I would believe them. But what they are really intent upon is destroying every Palestinian, just as Hamas is intent on destroying every Israeli. They are like the two cats of Kilkenny.

is considered to be Hamas, there was a blip the other night in Ha'aertz I believe, that anyone in Gaza who helped Hamas meaning worked for them or allowed a Hamas member to stay in their home such as a son or father perhaps was also considered to be Hamas that pretty well covers everyone in Gaza except maybe a couple of Bedouin goat herders and they could be collateral.

I like the story of the Cats of Kilkenny...used it in other examples in the past.

Why is it that so many of the pro-palestinian people here have trouble sticking to the actual facts of the matter? What in the world makes it appear to you that Israel's intention is to kill every single Palestinian?

:cry:

depends on the ignorance of the American public the "never gets old" human sheild excuse for civiian causalities for instance depends on the fact that Gaza is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth remaining unknown Gaza's population density as 07/07 was 10,665 people per square mile that is more dense than most urban area in the US and not leaving any Hamas buildings standing? Well what they do not say is that those include mosques, schools, hospitals, homes of Hamas members and relatives of Hamas members IOW they do not intend to leave much.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

and bombing every single government building? Does this mean that every single government employee is a "legitimate" target? What exactly does international law say about this?

It purged all PA supporters (Stalin style) and others from any influential position and replaced them with Hamas supporters. Its not like they are Democratic Party taking over from the Republicans with a large Civil Service remaining in place. It Gaza, not Washington.

From what I have seen, Israel has remained within international law (just barely in some cases). That does not mean I support what they have done. (Legal and moral are not always identical)

Does this mean that it's okay to bomb the Ministry of Culture? Does international law say that it's okay so long as the party involved is sufficiently "fascist"? There are a lot of people (myself incuded) who would argue that the current Republican party is fascist. I do not believe that implies that bombing them would be acceptable.

feel free to try again

like that if you wish. I heard on the news yesterday that they were bombing the Ministry of Culture. I was looking for a genuine opinion as to how far it is acceptable to go in that direction. I won't hold my breath waiting for an actual opinion from you, though.