The Middle East

Death toll climbs after Israeli raids on Gaza

Medics say at least 17 Palestinians have been killed and a dozen injured after Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.

the Guardian,

10 March, 2012

A 12-year-old boy was among those reported to have been killed in Gaza on Sunday amid a spiralling round of militant rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes over the weekend that left at least 18 Palestinians dead and four people in Israel injured.

A further 26 Palestinians were injured, five seriously, in a string of Israeli air strikes, the Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya told the Palestinian news agency Maan. He named the dead child as Ayoub Useila, who was killed in Jabalia refugee camp in an air strike that also injured his seven-year-old cousin.

The weekend death and injury toll was the highest since Operation Cast Lead, Israel's three-week military assault on Gaza just over three years ago.

As the attacks and counterattacks continued on Sunday morning, the Israeli authorities ordered schools in southern towns to remain closed. More than 130 rockets have been fired from Gaza since Friday. Thousands of Israelis in cities such as Be'er Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon spent part of the weekend in bomb shelters.

The cycle began with the targeted assassination by Israel of a Palestinian militant who it says was planning an attack within Israel. Zuhair al-Qaissi, 49, the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), was killed along with his son-in-law Mahmoud Hanini, 44, when the car in which they were travelling was hit by a missile. A civilian bystander was seriously injured.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said Qaissi had "led and directed plans to carry out a terror attack within Israel, which was in its final stages of preparation". The IDF also said Qaissi was behind an attack last August in which militants crossed the border from the Sinai to kill eight Israelis.

Militants in Gaza responded to Qaissi's death with a barrage of Qassam and Grad rockets. Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defence system to intercept at least 28 rockets – 90% of those targeted – since Friday. According to the IDF, 17 separate air strikes had been carried out by Sunday morning. Apart from the 12-year-old, all those killed were militants.

Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, said the hostilities were expected to continue. "This current round … is far from over, and we must remain vigilant and alert in the face of a potential terror attack from the Sinai," he said while visiting an Iron Dome battery near Ashdod on Saturday. "We will act against anyone who attempts to send rockets or perpetrate terror attacks. Anyone attempting such an attack will pay the full price. Immunity will be granted to nobody."

Militants from Islamic Jihad and the PRC are believed to have launched the rockets. However, Israel maintains that Hamas, which controls Gaza, is responsible for all rocket fire and, according to the IDF, "will bear the consequences of these actions in any future operation embarked upon by the IDF in order to eliminate the terror threat and restore the relative calm to the area".

Both Hamas and Israel are thought to be anxious to avoid a major confrontation. Hamas fears that in the event of a sustained military operation, Israel would seek to destroy its infrastructure and arsenal and wipe out its leadership. Israel fears inflaming hostile sentiment in the region, particularly in Egypt, where the politically ascendant Muslim Brotherhood is close to Hamas.

Egypt has mediated between Israel and Hamas in previous confrontations, most notably in the aftermath of last August's cross-border attack which sparked a similar round of violence.

On Friday, Israel closed Route 12, the scene of last August's incident, which runs along the Israel-Egypt border, to civilian traffic amid warnings of a possible attack. It had reopened only two weeks ago.

US officials condemned the latest round of rocket fire from Gaza. The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said Israel had the right to defend itself, and a state department statement called on both sides to restore calm.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the rocket fire from Gaza by terrorists into southern Israel in recent days, which has dramatically and dangerously escalated in the past day," the statement said. "We call on those responsible to take immediate action to stop these cowardly acts. We regret the loss of life and injuries, and we call on both sides to make every effort to restore calm."

The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the EU was concerned about "the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and in the south of Israel". "I very much deplore the loss of civilian life," she said. "It is essential to avoid further escalation and I urge all sides to re-establish calm."

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, held emergency consultations with the Egyptian leadership, the European Union and the Middle East Quartet, according to his office. Abbas also called on Israel to "stop its aggressive acts, which include assassinations, invasions and destruction of infrastructure".

US soldier kills Afghans in shooting spree

Soldier opens fire on civilians in three separate homes near military base in Kandahar province before surrendering.

Al-Jazeera,

11 March, 2012

A US soldier has killed more than a dozen civilians in a shooting spree in southern Afghanistan before being detained, officials say.

A member of the Kandahar provincial council who visited the site of the shooting in Panjwai district told Al Jazeera that at least 17 civilians were killed when the soldier left his base early on Sunday morning and opened fire.

The Kandahar governor's office put the number of killed civilians at 15.

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