GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Nov 17 (AFP) -Israeli air strikes destroyed the cabinet headquarters of Gaza’s Hamas rulers yesterday after militants fired rockets at the heart of Israel which called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war. The Israeli military said it had sealed off all main roads around Gaza and declared a [...]

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Israeli air strikes hit Hamas HQ in Gaza

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GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Nov 17 (AFP) -Israeli air strikes destroyed the cabinet headquarters of Gaza’s Hamas rulers yesterday after militants fired rockets at the heart of Israel which called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.

The Israeli military said it had sealed off all main roads around Gaza and declared a closed military zone, in the latest sign it was poised to launch a first ground offensive on the Palestinian enclave since December 2008-January 2009.

Operation: Israeli soldiers take cover as the 'Iron Dome' fires a missile (Daily Mail)

“The IDF (army) has targeted Ismail Haniya’s headquarters in Gaza,” an Israeli army spokesman told AFP, referring to the Hamas prime minister. Haniya’s Islamist government said four “barbaric Israeli” strikes “completely destroyed” its headquarters and that neighbouring houses were damaged.

Witnesses said the damage was extensive but there were no reports of casualties. An Israeli air strike on Rafah in southern Gaza, however, killed four people later on Saturday morning, Palestinian medics said, raising the overall death toll from the aerial campaign to 38.

The attack came as Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem crossed into southern Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a day after a solidarity visit by Egypt’s premier.

It followed hot on the heels of other strikes elsewhere in the city which killed one, and a raid on a refugee camp in central Gaza which killed another three, medics said.

AFP correspondents in Gaza City reported a heavy bombardment in the city’s west, after raids on the Hamas police headquarters in the same area and the government’s internal security headquarters in the north.

Tanks were seen massing along the Gaza-Israel frontier on Friday, and a steady stream of reservists arrived throughout the day. President Barack Obama reiterated US support for Israel’s right to defend itself during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the conflict in Gaza.

Israeli ministers approved the call-up of as many as 75,000 reservists as Netanyahu held late evening talks at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv with his key ministers, Channel Two television reported.




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