Gaza offensive condemned as ‘genocide’

Israel’s killings of Palestinians in its Gaza offensive have been called “genocide” by Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann (photo, from aljazeera.net), the president of the UN General Assembly.

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Obama ‘deeply concerned’ by the situation in Gaza

“The loss of civilian life in Gaza and Israel is a source of deep concern for me”, said Barack Obama, the US president-elect (photo, from cbsnews.com).

He repeated that until he became president on January 20, only George W. Bush could speak on US foreign policy.

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‘No humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza, said Livni

Israel’s foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, said there is “no humanitarian crisis” in the Gaza Strip, and again rejected a French proposal for a ceasefire to allow aid there.

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Gaza-Israel truce extension is uncertain

The ceasefire between Gaza and Israel that started in June is unlikely to be extended, the Palestinian group Hamas has said in a statement attributed to exiled leader Khaled Mashaal.
Earlier reports on Sunday quoting Mr Mashaal as saying there would definitely be no renewal of the truce were inaccurate, Hamas officials told Al Jazeera.

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Gaza truce ’shattered’ said Olmert

After 13 days of tit-for-tat attacks, the five-month truce with Hamas in the Gaza Strip has been “shattered”, said Israel’s prime minister (photo).

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The UN has no more food to distribute in Gaza

The head of relief efforts in the area has warned that the UN has no more food to distribute in the Gaza Strip. (photo, from bbc.co.uk)
Handouts for 750 000 Gazans would have to be suspended at least until Saturday, said John Ging, adding that Gaza’s economic situation was “a disaster”.

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Rocket fired from Gaza to southern Israel

“Massive” rocket fire from Hamas-governed Palestinian territory has been reported by Israeli police on Wednesday morning. Reuters news agency said that more than 35 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.

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Georgia ordered ‘ceasefire in South Ossetia’

A ceasefire has been ordered in South Ossetia, said Georgia, who offered to hold peace talks with Moscow, who denied that exchanges of fire had stopped and continued to bomb targets near Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, including the airport, reports said.

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Naval escorts needed in Somalia

Foreign governments have been urged by the World Food Programme (WFP) to provide navale escorts, in order to protect its food ships from pirates off the Somali coast.
On Friday, the United Nations’ food agency warned that the lives of millions of starving people are threatened by disruptions to food shipments and attacks on aid workers [...]

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Gaza crossings reopened

As no rocket and mortar attacks launched at southern Israel since an attack on Thursday, Israel took the decision to reopen the crossings. Last week, Israel closed border crossings to the Gaza Strip, after a rocket was fired from the Hamas-ruled territory, in defiance of a truce that took effect June 19.

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