A Palestinian rocket has targeted Tel Aviv on the third day of an Israeli military operation against the Gaza Strip.
It was the second straight day that Gaza militants have targeted Tel Aviv. The attacks, which Israel considers to be a major escalation, could draw an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza closer.
Sirens wailed across the city Friday afternoon, shortly before the explosion sounded out.
The rocket landed in an open area near Tel Aviv, and no injuries were reported, said the CBC's Derek Stoffel.
The latest assault broke a short lull in the violence. Israel had offered to hold back its offensive in the Gaza Strip during a visit Friday by Egypt's prime minister.
An official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader's offer of a pause in its attacks — contingent on militants refraining from firing rockets at Israel — was in response to an Egyptian request.
More than 50 rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel since sunrise, Stofffel reported.
Israel resumed its airstrikes, and smoke could be seen rising from over Gaza on Friday morning, said Stoffel, reporting from the city of Sderot near the Gaza border.
Tel Aviv has opened its public bomb shelters, and hospitals are on increased alert, Stoffel added.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil crossed into Gaza before midday, local time, through the only border post with Egypt, heavily guarded by security personnel wearing flak jackets and carrying assault rifles.
He was greeted by Gaza's Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, who ventured out in public for the first time since Israel launched the offensive Wednesday by assassinating the militant group's military commander.
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the militants were making a clear statement. "There's no intention whatsoever to stop firing into Israel," he said.
Three days of fierce fighting between Israel and Gaza militants has widened the instability gripping the region, straining already frayed Israel-Egypt relations. The Egyptian government recalled its ambassador in protest.
Egypt said Kandil's three-hour visit Friday was meant as a show of solidarity with the Palestinian territory's militant Hamas rulers.
Egyptian intelligence officials involved in negotiations to end previous rounds of fighting are accompanying Kandil on his visit, an Egyptian diplomat said, suggesting it was more than a display of support.
The diplomat said Gaza militants have told Egyptian intelligence officials they would be willing to hold their fire if Israel would commit to mediation to stop its military operation and targeted killings.
Overnight Friday, there were fierce exchanges and signals that Israel might be preparing to invade Gaza. The military said it targeted about 150 of the sites Gaza gunmen use to fire rockets at Israel, as well as ammunition warehouses, bringing to 450 the number of sites struck since the operation began Wednesday.
Israeli troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers massed near the Palestinian territory, signalling a ground invasion might be imminent.
The death toll in Gaza was 19, including five children, according to Palestinian health officials.
During the latest rocket firing, 10-month-old Haneen Tafesh was killed Thursday when flying shrapnel from an air attack on a field next to her family's shack struck her in the head.
"What did she do? Did she fire any rockets?" asked her 23-year-old father, Khaled Tafesh, as he waited outside the Shifa hospital morgue in Gaza City, waiting for the funeral of his only child to begin.
The Israeli offensive has not deterred the militants from firing more than 400 rockets aimed at southern Israel, the military said.
The two rockets that struck closest to Tel Aviv appeared to have landed in the Mediterranean Sea, defence officials said, and another hit an open area on Tel Aviv's southern outskirts.
No injuries were reported, but the rocket fire sowed panic in Tel Aviv and made the prospect of a ground incursion more likely. The government later approved the mobilization of up to 30,000 reservists for a possible invasion.
Israeli soldiers prepare armoured personnel carriers at an area near the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, in a sign that violence could escalate further with Palestinian militants. (Ronen Zvulun/Reuters) Netanyahu said the army was hitting Hamas hard with what he called surgical strikes, and warned of a "significant widening" of the Gaza operation. Israel will "continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people," said Netanyahu, who is up for re-election in January.
At least 12 trucks were seen transporting tanks and armoured personnel carriers toward Gaza late Thursday, and buses carrying soldiers headed toward the border area.
With files from CBC NewsAnda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Palestinian rocket targets Tel Aviv for 2nd day
Dengan url
http://topstorinfo.blogspot.com/2012/11/palestinian-rocket-targets-tel-aviv-for.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Palestinian rocket targets Tel Aviv for 2nd day
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Palestinian rocket targets Tel Aviv for 2nd day
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar