MIDDLE EAST: U.N. says an Israeli strike hit three of its men in Gaza/ Israel confirms its participation in Egypt truce talks

Record ID: 353127

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: U.N. says an Israeli strike hit three of its men in Gaza/ Israel confirms its participation in Egypt truce talks
  • Date: 15th January 2009
  • Summary: ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER AREA, ISRAEL (JANUARY 15, 2009) (REUTERS) HAMAS ROCKET BEING LAUNCHED FROM GAZA TOWARDS ISRAEL VARIOUS OF SMOKE BILLOWING OVER GAZA FROM ISRAELI AIR STRIKES VARIOUS OF ISRAELI TANKS AND SOLDIERS OPERATING NEAR BORDER (5 SHOTS) SMOKE BILLOWING OVER GAZA
  • Embargoed: 30th January 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA2CSBNZPH6ST8QAVD7E4Q6053F
  • Story Text: The United Nations says an Israeli attack hit three of its men in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Meanwhile the spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert confirms that a representative of the Jewish state is in Egypt in a bid to secure a truce agreement with Hamas in Gaza.
    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Thursday (January 15) said three of its men were hurt from an Israeli phosphorus attack in the Gaza Strip.
    "There have been three hits on the UNRWA headquarters on the compound in Gaza, including I'm told by John Ging (head of UNRWA ), white phosphorous. Three of our staff members have been injured. The workshop in our compound is in flames and nearby are loaded fuel tankers. So the situation is extremely dangerous and extremely serious. We have been on the phone to the Israeli authorities asking them to call off their fire from around the compound of a neutral international organisation. We have not had the answer we want," UNRWA Spokesman Christopher Gunness told Reuters.
    The incident came as the Jewish state's military operation into the Palestinian coastal enclave continued into its 20th day despite renewed hopes for a successful end to ceasefire talks.
    The spokesperson for Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, on Thursday confirmed that a representative of the Jewish state was in Egypt to try to complete a truce agreement with Hamas in Gaza.

    "Today a senior Israeli envoy is visiting Egypt for discussions with the Egyptian leadership on the end game. Ultimately we want to see a situation in which there is a sustained ceasefire in the south, a total cessation of hostile fire from Gaza into Israel, and an effective mechanism that will prevent Hamas from re-arming," the spokesman, Mark Regev, told Reuters in Jerusalem.
    An Israeli envoy was scheduled to meet Egyptian mediators in Cairo after a Hamas delegation concluded talks on an Egyptian truce proposal on Wednesday (January 14).
    But though diplomatic efforts appeared to be gaining ground, the scene on the Gaza battlefield remained unchanged on Thursday morning.
    Israeli tanks and artillery continued to pound the Gaza City in the most relentless shelling in nearly three weeks of fighting on the 20th day of the conflict.
    The Palestinian death toll from the air-and-ground offensive has risen to at least 1,024, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. A Palestinian rights group said 670 of the dead were civilians.
    Israel, which wants an end to rocket attacks on its towns and guarantees that Hamas cannot smuggle in more weapons from tunnels to neighbouring Egypt, said it would not agree to a truce allowing the Palestinian Islamists to regroup and rearm.
    Israeli officials said Israel was seeking an agreement with Washington on regional and international security guarantees that would bolster Egyptian efforts to ensure Hamas could not replenish its arsenal.
    The United States and European powers, the officials said, would commit to providing Egypt with both advisers and new technology to combat smuggling tunnels.
    Israel was also seeking an international maritime monitoring effort to prevent rocket smuggling by sea through Egyptian ports to block the shipments before they even reach the border, the officials said.
    U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- who arrived in the region on Wednesday for several days of intense diplomacy on the conflict -- is scheduled to meet with Israeli leaders later on Thursday.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register