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Comments (0)At least 35 rockets shot from Gaza pounded southern Israel as Israel prepared to transfer humanitarian aid to the Palestinians on the second day of its ground operation against Hamas.
Long-range Grad rockets struck Beersheba, Yavne, Ashdod and Ashkelon throughout Monday. A Grad missile struck an empty kindergarten in Ashdod, while a Kassam rocket damaged a home in Sderot, where several people were treated for shock. Schools in those areas and surrounding communities remained closed Monday.
Overnight in Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Air Force struck more than 30 targets, including a mosque storing large numbers of weapons, an underground bunker in Gaza City, tunnels near the Egyptian border used to bring terrorists in and out of Gaza, Hamas members’ homes and a rocket launcher, according to the Israel Defense Forces spokesman’s office.
An IDF officer and five soldiers were injured in overnight gun fights.
Meanwhile, the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza was scheduled to open Monday to allow 80 truckloads of medical supplies and food from Greece, Jordan and Egypt to cross into Gaza.
In addition, the fuel depot at Nahal Oz was scheduled to send into Gaza nearly 53,000 gallons of fuel for Gaza’s power station and for humanitarian needs. Also, some 200 Palestinians holding dual citizenship will be evacuated from Gaza.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that “Hamas has been dealt a very severe blow, but we still haven’t reached the end goal we set for ourselves and therefore the operation is continuing.”
Barak said that more than 500 Palestinians have been killed and about 2,200 wounded in the operation. Some 55 Israeli soldiers have been injured and one killed.
A large number of Hamas terrorists have been taken prisoner in the ground offensive, Israel Radio reported.
Palestinian officials told the media that the IDF killed seven members of one Palestinian family in an airstrike Monday on their home on the outskirts of Gaza City.
UJC to Raise $10 Million for Relief Effort
The North American Jewish federation system will raise $10 million for southern Israel.
The United Jewish Communities announced Monday that it will raise the funds to augment humanitarian and social needs programs that its overseas partners, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, already run in southern Israel, which has been under attack by Hamas missiles.
The JDC will provide more case workers for 25,000 elderly and disabled residents, expand consulting to municipalities to bolster emergency preparedness, expand trauma relief counseling to children, reinforce networks of emergency volunteers, fortify security structures for the elderly and boost small businesses that have suffered due to the ongoing attacks.
The Jewish Agency will provide 23,500 children with respite trips away from the conflict zone, purchase computers for children so they can continue schoolwork, provide supplies and provisions for bomb shelters, and provide counseling and therapy for immigrants housed in absorption centers.
The federation system is also planning a series of solidarity rallies and will send a delegation of leaders to Israel to survey the situation, according to the UJC. In coming days the UJC also will open a fund-raising mailbox.
Lebanon, Hezbollah not Interested in Conflict
Lebanon and Hezbollah do not want to be dragged into the Gaza conflict, a Lebanese government official said.
“There is consensus in Lebanon that there is no interest for Lebanon to have another war in the south,” Lebanese Information Minister Tarik Mitri told reporters Monday, the French Press Agency reported.
Mitri said, however, that if the conflict drags on it could cause a “spillover of the violence” into Lebanon. He told reporters that the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have remained stable throughout the operation.
Lebanon has called for an unconditional cease-fire in the conflict.