Obama cautioned against a potential Israeli ground invasion into Gaza, warning it could only deepen its death toll.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Medics: Israel strike kills 11 civilians in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli missile flattened a two-story house in a residential neighborhood of Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 11 civilians, mostly women and children, Palestinian medical officials said, as Israel expanded a military offensive to target homes of wanted militants.

The attack, which Israel said targeted a militant, was the single deadliest incident of the five-day-old Israeli operation and hiked a toll Sunday that was already the highest number of civilians killed in one day, according to Gaza medics. The bloodshed is likely to raise international pressure for a cease-fire, with Egypt taking the leading role in mediating between Israel and Hamas.

President Barack Obama said he had been in touch with the leaders of Israel, Egypt, and Turkey in an effort to halt the fighting. "We're going to have to see what kind of progress we can make in the next 24, 36, 48 hours," he said.

Obama cautioned against a potential Israeli ground invasion into Gaza, warning it could only deepen its death toll. At the same time, he blamed Palestinian militants for starting the round of fighting by raining rockets onto Israel, and he defended Israel's right to defend itself.

"Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory," Obama said in Thailand at the start of a three-nation tour in Asia.

An Israeli envoy arrived in Cairo on Sunday and held talks with Egyptian officials on a ceasefire, according to Egyptian security officials and Nabil Shaath, a top aide of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who was in the Egyptian capital.

But Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers remain far apart on any terms for a halt in the bloodshed, which has killed 70 Palestinians — including 36 civilians, according to Gaza health officials — and three Israeli civilians.

Hamas is linking a truce deal to a complete lifting of the border blockade on Gaza imposed since Islamists seized the territory by force. Hamas also seeks Israeli guarantees to halt targeted killings of its leaders and military commanders. Israeli officials reject such demands. They say they are not interested in a "timeout," and want firm guarantees that militant rocket fire into Israel will finally end. Past ceasefires have been short lived.

As the offensive moved forward, Israel found itself at a crossroads — on the cusp of launching a ground offensive into Gaza to strike an even tougher blow against Hamas, or pursuing Egyptian-led truce efforts.

"The Israeli military is prepared to significantly expand the operation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

At the same time, Gaza militants continued their barrage of rocket fire at Israel, firing more than 100, including two at Tel Aviv. More than 10 Israelis were injured by shrapnel, two moderately, according to police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. Israel's "Iron Dome" rocket-defense system shot down at least 30 rockets, including the ones aimed at Tel Aviv.

Israel's announcement Sunday that it was widening its campaign to target homes of militants appeared to mark a new and risky phase of the operation, given the likelihood of civilian casualties in the densely populated territory of 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel launched the offensive Wednesday in a bid to end months of intensifying rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The day's deadliest strike hit the home of the Daloo family in Gaza City, reducing the structure to rubble.

Frantic rescuers pulled the bodies of several children from the ruins of the house, including a toddler and a 5-year-old, as survivors and bystanders screamed in grief. Later, the bodies of the children were laid out in the morgue of Gaza City's Shifa Hospital.

Among the 11 dead were four small children and five women, including an 80-year-old, Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said.

In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply saddened" by the deaths of the civilians and "alarmed by the continuing firing of rockets against Israeli towns."

Israeli military spokesman Brig Gen. Yoav Mordechai told Channel 2 TV that the Israeli navy had targeted the building and killed a "global jihad" militant.

"The targets are exact," Mordechai said. "Every (Israeli) missile has an address."

He said the army would continue its operation "as if there were no (cease-fire) talks in Egypt."

The presence of a militant in the house could not be verified. Al-Kidra said the two adult men killed in the strike were civilians.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said that "the Israeli people will pay the price" for the killing of civilians. One of the rocket attacks targeting Tel Aviv came soon after the strike on the Daloo home.

More than a dozen homes of Hamas commanders or families linked to Hamas were struck on Sunday. Though most were empty — their inhabitants having fled to shelter — at least three still had families in them. Al-Kidra said 19 of the 24 people killed Sunday were civilians, mostly women and children.

Israeli Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon said civilian casualties are inevitable.

"You can't avoid collateral damage if they position the rockets in densely populated areas, in mosques, school yards. We shouldn't be blamed for the outcome," he said.

Israel also struck two high-rise buildings housing media outlets, damaging the top floor offices of the Hamas TV station, Al Aqsa, and a Lebanese-based broadcaster, Al Quds TV, seen as sympathetic to the Islamists. Six Palestinian journalists were wounded, including one who lost a leg, a Gaza press association said.

Foreign broadcasters, including British, German and Italian TV outlets, also had offices in the high-rises.

Two missiles made a direct hit on Al Aqsa TV's 15th floor offices, said Bassem Madhoun, an employee of Dubai TV, which has offices in the same building.

Building windows were blown out and glass shards and debris were scattered on the street below. Some of the journalists who had been inside the building at the time took cover in the entrance hallway.

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said the strikes targeted Hamas communications equipment on the buildings' rooftops. She accused the group of using journalists as "human shields," and urged journalists to stay clear of Hamas bases and facilities.

The repeated militant rocket fire on Tel Aviv and a volley fired Friday toward Jerusalem have significantly escalated the hostilities by widening the militants' rocket range and putting 3.5 million Israelis, or half the country's population, within reach. The attempt to strike Jerusalem also has symbolic resonance because both Israel and the Palestinians claim the holy city for a capital.

Israeli radio stations repeatedly interrupted their broadcasts to air "Code Red" alerts warning of impending rocket strikes. In the southern city of Ashkelon, rocket fire damaged a residential building, punching a hole in the ceiling and riddling the facade with shrapnel.

With fighting showing no signs of slowing, international attempts to broker a ceasefire continued.

Nabil Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who was in Cairo, confirmed that the Israeli envoy had arrived in Egypt for talks, saying there are "serious attempts to reach a ceasefire." There was no immediate Israeli confirmation.

Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, spoke to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. He told the Egyptian leader he supports such efforts, provided Hamas receives "guarantees that will prevent any future aggression" by Israel, his office said in a statement.

Morsi over the weekend hosted talks with Hamas' supreme leader, as well as leaders from Hamas allies Turkey and Qatar. He also held contacts with Western leaders.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius visited Israel on Sunday to offer his country's help toward forging an "immediate ceasefire," the French government said.

Meeting with Fabius, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman thanked him for "France's efforts to prevent casualties" but said "the moment that all the terror organizations announce a ceasefire, we can consider all the ideas that French foreign minister and other friends are raising."

http://news.yahoo.com/medics-israel-strike-kills-11-civilians-gaza-180240393.html

(F) (F) (F) (F) (F)

Edited November 18, 2012 by The Patriot

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

US, Britain warn of risks of Israeli ground war

BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. and Britain on Sunday warned about the risks of Israel expanding its air assault on the Gaza Strip into a ground war, while vigorously defending the Jewish state's right to protect itself against rocket attacks.

The remarks by President Barack Obama and Britain Foreign Secretary William Hague were part of a diplomatic balancing act by the West as it desperately seeks an end to the escalating violence without alienating its closest ally in the region.

"Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory," President Barack Obama said at a news conference in Bangkok at the start of a three-nation visit to Asia.

"If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that's preferable," Obama said. "It's not just preferable for the people of Gaza. It's also preferable for Israelis, because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they're much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded."

The president spoke shortly before an Israeli airstrike leveled a home in a residential neighborhood. Palestinian medical officials said at least 11 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed. The attack was the single deadliest incident of the 5-day-old Israeli operation.

The Israeli military said the target was a top rocket mastermind of the Islamic Jihad militant group. The claim could not be immediately verified, and the attack raised speculation that Israel could face increased international pressure if the civilian death toll continued to rise.

Hague said Hamas, Gaza's militant rulers, "bears principal responsibility" for initiating the violence and must stop all rocket attacks on Israel. But Hague also made clear the diplomatic risks of an Israeli escalation.

"A ground invasion is much more difficult for the international community to sympathize with or support, including the United Kingdom," he said.

Israeli officials say the airstrikes are aimed at ending months of rocket fire out of the Hamas-ruled territory. Israel began the offensive with an unexpected airstrike that killed Hamas' military chief, and since then has targeted suspected rocket launchers and storage sites.

The Mideast ally is now at a crossroads: launch a ground invasion or pursue Egyptian-led truce efforts. But with Israel and Hamas far apart on any terms of cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, "The Israeli military is prepared to significantly expand the operation."

The crisis threatened to overshadow Obama's trip to Asia, which includes stops in Myanmar and Cambodia as part of a broader effort to expand the U.S. economic and military presence in a region long dominated by China.

So far, the U.S. has thrown its weight behind Israel, and Obama has called on Egypt and Turkey to intervene on Israel's behalf. Obama said he has told Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, and Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "those who champion the cause of the Palestinians should recognize that if we see a further escalation of the situation in Gaza, then the likelihood of us getting back on any kind of peace track that leads to a two-state solution is going to be pushed off way into the future."

Obama also pointed to the next 48 hours "to see what kind of progress we can make."

Members of the U.S. Congress, which overwhelmingly supports Israel, criticized Egypt and Turkey for not doing enough to intervene. They said all eyes were on Morsi, Egypt's first civilian and freely elected leader.

"Egypt, watch what you do and how you do it," said Sen. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." ''You're teetering with the Congress on having your aid cut off if you keep inciting violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians."

In a separate interview on ABC's "This Week," Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, called Egypt's response to the crisis "pretty weak" so far.

"I think that they're going to have to take some very serious steps diplomatically to make it clear to Hamas that they're going to lose support in the Arab world if they continue these rocket attacks on Israel," said Levin, D-Mich.

Lawmakers also blamed Iran for arming Hamas militants, and questioned Egypt's role in that.

"My guess is there has to be some tacit involvement in Egypt and the border or these things wouldn't be getting in to Gaza," said Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., said he thinks the threat of a ground war is overblown.

"I don't think the Israelis really want a ground war," he told "Fox News Sunday." ''They'll go into Gaza if they feel they need to, to eliminate the remainder of the missiles. ... So really, the decision is up to Hamas, as to whether there will be a ground invasion of Gaza or not."

http://news.yahoo.com/us-britain-warn-risks-israeli-ground-war-195810096--politics.html

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

What stops Hamas from firing missiles into Israel in the future seeing how Operation Lead didn't?

This helps....

Edited November 19, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

What stops Hamas from firing missiles into Israel in the future seeing how Operation Lead didn't?

One state, equal rights for all.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

One state, equal rights for all.

Jews and Muslims as one single state? There's a better chance of you being visited by leprechauns tonight. Only a Californian would think that's a possible reality. There were once two countries there but the Arabs had a problem with it and refused to sign an agreement, they then proceeded to attack and the Jews retailiated in like manor. Since then there has been numerous wars and battles between the two.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Jews and Muslims as one single state?

Why not? They lived that way for almost 1500 years, while the Christian world was slaughtering Jews on a regular basis.

Edited November 19, 2012 by The Patriot

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Why not? They lived that way for almost 1500 years, while the Christian world was slaughtering Jews on a regular basis.

They lived under the Ottoman thumb and before that the Romans. They still weren't one big happy family even then and since Israel and the Arabs in that region want their own country with their own laws and government there its not going to be one single state of Jews and Arabs. That's just a reality and any time taken to read on the history of that region will show likewise.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Bad_Daddy

[Danno 1,228]

Why is it when we are attacked no one but the Left suggest we should use a "measured response".

So why do we give advice we ourselves don't use?

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Why is it when we are attacked no one but the Left suggest we should use a "measured response".

So why do we give advice we ourselves don't use?

Because Obama is trying to play both sides of the fence...as usual.

[sandinista! 1,816]

You think the Levant is the only place Jews and Muslims have ever lived together? It isn't.

They lived under the Ottoman thumb and before that the Romans. They still weren't one big happy family even then and since Israel and the Arabs in that region want their own country with their own laws and government there its not going to be one single state of Jews and Arabs. That's just a reality and any time taken to read on the history of that region will show likewise.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

You think the Levant is the only place Jews and Muslims have ever lived together? It isn't.

I'm sure there's other places but I don't see it happening in that region. Religion drives both Arabs and Jews. Sharia Law, Jewish state...you get the picture. Jews want Jews running the show and Arabs want Arabs running their show. It makes sense. I don't ever see that place as a single state for both Arabs and Jews with equal share in the government. Maybe in 2,000+ years from now but not before then.

[OriZ 3,157]

There already is one state with equal rights, it just doesn't include the west bank and gaza. Arabs in Israel enjoy more freedom and rights than they do in any Arab country. It is no wonder most of them(surveyed) keep saying they would rather stay and live in Israel than move to Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Syria or anywhere else.

[justashooter 430]

like i said, a righteous heir and a ####### child fighting over the same inheritance for milenia, and only one can stand. hamas must cease to exist. let the thunder roll.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

like i said, a righteous heir and a ####### child fighting over the same inheritance for milenia, and only one can stand. hamas must cease to exist. let the thunder roll.

Stop calling Jews bastards.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

There already is one state with equal rights, it just doesn't include the west bank and gaza. Arabs in Israel enjoy more freedom and rights than they do in any Arab country. It is no wonder most of them(surveyed) keep saying they would rather stay and live in Israel than move to Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Syria or anywhere else.

A privileged Jew telling Arabs how blessed they are to have equal rights in a country that openly favors Jews. How very White of you, Jim Crow. You wouldn't know what life is like for Arabs in Israel. You don't have to live like one.

Edited November 20, 2012 by Sofiyya