Isreal, Hamas Announce Gaza Ceasefire.

[Meirionnydd]

Happened yesterday. But I'll post it anyway.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has announced an immediate ceasefire with Israel in Gaza.

A statement read by a Hamas spokesman said the group would hold fire for a week to give Israel time to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip.

The move came hours after a unilateral Israeli ceasefire came into effect.

Some Israeli troops have begun pulling out of the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel wanted to leave Gaza "as soon as possible".

Earlier, there was more rocket fire from Gaza into Israel. The BBC's Paul Wood entered northern Gaza via the Erez crossing as part of the first group of journalists to gain independent access to the Strip from Israel.

He says that in the town of Beit Lahiya he saw the first real destruction -streets churned up by Israeli heavy armour, overturned cars, a lake of raw sewage in the street and a mosque left as a charred ruin.
Hamas officials stopped the BBC from filming at one site where bodies were still being removed - a sign, perhaps, that there had been some kind of military target nearby, our correspondent says.

High alert

Hamas' deputy chief in Syria, Moussa Abou Marzouk, said the ceasefire was in the name of all "Palestinian resistance factions".

"We... announce a ceasefire of our factions in the Gaza Strip and we stress that our demand is the withdrawal of the enemy forces from the Gaza Strip within a week, along with the opening of all the crossings for the entry of humanitarian aid, food and other necessities for our people in the Gaza Strip."
The group said the ceasefire would be temporary unless Israel met these long-standing demands.

In a televised speech, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, said the Palestinian people had won a great victory over Israel and that the three-week offensive had not cowed the Palestinians.

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, Yigal Palmor, did not comment directly on the Hamas demands.
But he told the BBC that troops would be withdrawn from the Gaza Strip "in good time" if there was "a total halt to attacks by Hamas".

The BBC's Bethany Bell, on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, says Israeli helicopters and drones have been flying overhead and Israeli troops are on high alert.

Many people are hoping that a ceasefire will last, but no-one on either side of the border will be surprised if the fighting starts up again, our correspondent adds.

Rocket fire
Israel, whose ceasefire came into effect at 0200 (2400 GMT) has said its troops will stay in Gaza for as long as necessary.

Hours later, at least 18 rockets were fired into Israel, Israeli sources said, triggering an Israeli air strike in response.
One rocket hit a house in Ashdod, injuring lightly two people, police said.

The stopping of rocket fire had been a chief aim of the military campaign.

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian near the southern Gazan town of Khan Younis on Sunday morning, reports from Gaza said. If confirmed, the death would be the first fatality since the ceasefire began.

At least 1,300 Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources, and 13 Israelis have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on 27 December.

Palestinian medics say at least 50 bodies have been pulled from the rubble since Israel halted its offensive.

The BBC's Christian Fraser, in Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border, says many of the 40,000 people who fled the town during the conflict, were returning to pick through the ruins of their homes on Sunday.
People are salvaging whatever they can, our correspondent says - even the broken bricks and corrugated iron are taken away on donkeys.

Hamas is still very much control in the town, our correspondent adds. One fighter told the BBC their determination and ability to fight was undiminished.

Meanwhile, heads of state from across Europe travelled to Egypt for a summit with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and UN chief Ban Ki-moon to try to shore up the ceasefire.

They discussed how to make the ceasefire durable and respected by Hamas, how to get aid to Gaza and beginning the process of rebuilding there.

Speaking after the talks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he would be sending a team to assess the immediate humanitarian needs of the people in Gaza.

"Within 10 days, I think we'll be able to make an assessment report and we will issue a humanitarian urgent, a humanitarian flash appeal.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hamas announces ceasefire in Gaza

 

[skyblue]

so a hamas ceasefire involves rocket attacks on israel?

 

[Meirionnydd]

so a hamas ceasefire involves rocket attacks on israel?

Err...

That happened before Hamas declared a ceasefire.

 

[jctauss]

never lasts with hamas

 

[Meirionnydd]

never lasts with hamas

Pfft, do you know that Isreal raided Gaza during the last ceasefire in November?

I guess that fact just went over your head.

 

[jctauss]

not getting into this one again too many posts like it on here already the point has been argued to death check those out then make your arguments

 

[wednesday]

The fact remains that Isreal announced cease fire, Hamas continued to fire rockets.....now they announce cease fire?? I wonder why??

 

[Meirionnydd]

not getting into this one again too many posts like it on here already the point has been argued to death check those out then make your arguments

Maybe you should think of that before posting the generic 'Hamas is evil and will break the ceasefire because they do not know the meaning of peace' comment.

 

[skyblue]

it wont end......hamas are probably just re-arming

 

[Meirionnydd]

The fact remains that Isreal announced cease fire, Hamas continued to fire rockets.....now they announce cease fire?? I wonder why??

Probably to show that the IDF has not destroyed their ability to fire rockets into Isreal.

 

[wednesday]

Probably to show that the IDF has not destroyed their ability to fire rockets into Isreal.

I think it showed the world what they really are actually...
Not the woe is us...."lets send all our children and women out onto roof tops...lets fire rockets and hope we kill a few while they are holding a cease fire..then shit ourselfs and act woe is us again when Israel respond"
Yer....ok

 

[Meirionnydd]

I think it showed the world what they really are actually...
Not the woe is us...."lets send all our children and women out onto roof tops...lets fire rockets and hope we kill a few while they are holding a cease fire..then sit ourselfs and act woe is us again when Israel respond"
Yer....ok

Or lets have them hide in a United Nations school and have the IDF shell that school without provocation.

Yer....ok

 

[Meirionnydd]

Hamas are not even spokes people for Gaza....So how they can say Gaza holds a ceasfire is beyond me??

Huh?...

 

[Meirionnydd]

I think it showed the world what they really are actually...
Not the woe is us...."lets send all our children and women out onto roof tops...lets fire rockets and hope we kill a few while they are holding a cease fire..then shit ourselfs and act woe is us again when Israel respond"
Yer....ok

And if you are refering to human shields, you should probably note that both sides have been using civilians as human shields.

Hamas aren't the good guys, neither are Isreal.

But I think the general posting trend in this thread will be that the 'heroic and good' Isreali military trimumphed over the 'dirty handed and evil' Hamas.

 

[wednesday]

Im not getting into this debate, there is no right on either side, it is all bararic, what im sick of is seeing threads making out that the Hamas are the saints in all this...when plainly they are not.

 

[Meirionnydd]

Im not getting into this debate, there is no right on either side, it is all bararic, what im sick of is seeing threads making out that the Hamas are the saints in all this...when plainly they are not.

Lol, I can only think of one person in this fourm (French guy) who has been supportive of Hamas.

Everyone else is generally supportive of Isreal.

 

[wednesday]

well i find it very odd that you would post a thread stating how the Hamas have called a cease fire?? when it has already been called by Israel???
Promoting perhaps??
I support neither side...they allsicken me.

 

[skyblue]

what pisses me off is that we keep hearing about the civilian casualties in palestine...what about the civilian casualties in israel?.......at least israel is trying to hit military targets where hamas's rockets are indescriminate

 

[kelvin070]

Ceasefire at what cost? Much of Gaza is in shambles let alone lives lost. Hamas start pounding rockets again then back to square one.

 

[Meirionnydd]

well i find it very odd that you would post a thread stating how the Hamas have called a cease fire?? when it has already been called by Israel???
Promoting perhaps??
I support neither side...they allsicken me.

LOL!

It was from the BBC, I wanted to post both. But I couldn't find the article that reported the Isreali ceasefire. It is over a day old after all. The BBC normally tend to update news stories as they develop, not post seperate articles about a core issue.

Notice the thread title too.

Isreal, Hamas Announce Gaza Ceasefire.

At least I included both names