It's as if Israel has an addiction to Palestinian blood.
"Israel Launches Air Strikes in Gaza as Truce Efforts Continue"
"At least one Palestinian has been killed and at least three wounded in Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the violence occurred amid efforts for a ceasefire.
Israeli soldiers walk with a blindfolded and detained old Palestinian man as they leave the Gaza Strip for a staging area on the Israel-Gaza border, Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
Israeli forces on the border have been on high alert for the past two weeks, after Palestinian militants launched a series of attacks on cargo crossings that provide food and fuel to Gaza. The Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, has promised more attacks unless Israel lifts its crippling blockade of the territory.
Hamas official Ashraf abu Dayeb said that following Muslim prayers on Friday, the Palestinian masses will march on Gaza border crossings to protest the Israeli siege.
Abu Dayeb warned that Gaza is a pressure cooker that will explode if the blockade is not lifted.
Israeli troops are seen stationed on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip during an ongoing military operation in Gaza, 16 Apr 2008 |
"The current strategy, which is a combination of surgical military strikes together with political diplomatic pressure and of course economic pressure, seems to be working," he said.
Regev says this strategy has prompted Hamas to seek a cease-fire. Hamas has signaled that it intends to give a positive response to an Egyptian truce proposal, and then the group says, the ball will be in Israel's court. Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman is expected to visit Jerusalem next week to hear Israel's response."