TheSun 2009-01-16 Page13 Israel Army Shells Gaza Ceasefire Talks Proceed
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news without borders 13 theSun | FRIDAY JANUARY 16 2009 Israel army shells Gaza, cease fi re talks proceed GAZA: Israel unleashed its heaviestshelling of Gaza’s crowded neigh- bourhoods yesterday, hitting a UN compound and a media building in what might be a final push againstHamas before a ceasefire deal. Hamas official Ayman Taha called the street warfare, in which a hospital was also hit, an attempt to force the Islamist group to accept Israel’s terms for a truce. At least 15 Palestinians were killed, medical officials said. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said its compound, where up to 700 Pales- tinians were sheltering, was struck twice by Israeli fire and three staffmembers were injured. Thick smoke rose from its food and fuel depot. UN Secretary-General Ban ki- Moon called it an “outrage”. Al-Quds hospital and a building housing the offices of Reuters and other media offices were also hit. A doctor was quoted as saying that the hospital was hit by Israeli fire. Abu Dhabi TV said an Israeli aircraft shota missile at the media building. A senior Western diplomat said Israel appeared to be trying to make last-minute gains on the ground be- fore a truce could be imposed. “It’s a classic Israeli strategy,” the diplomat said. An Israeli envoy met Egyptian mediators in Cairo after a Hamas delegation concluded talks on an Egyptian truce proposal by repeating their demand that Israel withdraw its troops and lift a long-standing blockade on coastal Gaza. Israel, which wants an end to cross-border rocket salvoes and guar- antees that Hamas cannot smuggle in more weapons from tunnels to Egypt, has said it would not agree to a truce allowing the Palestinian Islamists to regroup and rearm. Diplomats said Egypt’s proposals centred on a phased-in ceasefire, starting with a lull to let in aid, fol- lowed by the withdrawal of all Israeli forces and the reopening of border crossings. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel’s armed forces would “fight up to the last minute”. Ban, who arrived in the region on Wednesday said in Israel he had conveyed a strong protest to Barak over the shelling of the UNRWA compound. “The defence minister said to me it was a grave mistake and he took itvery seriously. He assured me thatextra attention will be paid to UN facilities and staff and this will not be repeated,” Ban said. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, speaking at the news confer- ence with Ban, accused Hamas ofusing Palestinian civilians as human shields. “And at the end of the day, even though we try to avoid civilian casual- ties, these things happen,” said Livni, who is running for prime minister as head of the ruling Kadima party in Israel’s Feb 10 election. – Reuters Hidden passengers could push ferry toll above 300: Of fi cial JAKARTA: An Indonesian ferry that sank on the week- end may have been carrying 103 people more than those listed on its manifest, officials said yesterday, raising the prospect of a death toll top- ping 330. But officials still could not say whether the ferry was overloaded when it set sail from Sulawesi island to Borneo on Saturday. Some 250 passengers and 17 crew were listed on the 700-tonne Teratai Prima’smanifest. Only 35 have been found alive since the ferry sank in heavy seas whipped up by a tropical storm in the Makassar Strait early on Sunday. “Based on reports from relatives there were at least 103 passengers who were not listed on the boat’s manifest,” transport ministry spokesman Bambang Erfan said. He said that while this could mean as many as 370 people were on the ferry when it left Pare-Pare port, western Sulawesi, the numbers could also be mis- leading. “We’re investigating whether they used different names like nicknames or there were more passengers than the number registered,” he said. “We haven’t arrived at any conclusion that the boat was over capacity,” he added. Another official was quoted in The Jakarta Globe daily as saying there was “something strange” about the passenger list, which made no mention of people under 15 years of age. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered a tough investigation into the ferry disaster, the worst in Indonesia since a ferry sank in 2006 killing 500. A probe is already under way amid claims that the ferry’s captain, who survived, ignored storm warnings, that port authorities al- lowed the ferry to be overloaded and that it was not properly equipped with safety gear. Navy, air force and police personnel were still searching the Makassar Strait for survivors yesterday but officials have said they believe most of the missing passen- gers and crew went down with the ferry. Palestinian firefighters extinguish the fire at a UN compound after it was hit by Israeli fire in Gaza City yesterday.
TheSun 2009-01-16 Page13 Israel Army Shells Gaza Ceasefire Talks Proceed
