Israel seeks 'new reality' in Gaza with stepped up attacks

Armed to the teeth, Israeli ground forces equipped with tanks and missiles, laid a siege of important Hamas establishments as they stepped up the offensive from air and sea, even as Hamas leaders "vowed" to crush them inside the Palestinian-held Gaza city.
 
Pitched battle raged in the coastal Strip for the third consecutive day since Israel launched the ground offensive, which has so far claimed a toll of 520 Palestinians.
 
Though the Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza, they have so far confined to the sparsely populated areas. But their test would come when they move into the heart of the city in built up areas vulnerable to sniper fire and to fight street- -to-street battles.
 
Though military analysts had said that Tel Aviv had achieved what it wanted from the air and sea battle, they were intrigued why the Israeli generals had opted for a land option. It may be that the Israelis want to wipe off their bitter experience in the Lebanon war in 2006.
 
Acknowledging that Israel has not been able to achieve its military goals in Gaza yet, Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak asserted that the operation will end only with Jerusalem having "an upper hand".
 
"Hamas has so far sustained a very heavy blow from us, but we have yet to achieve our objective and therefore the operation continues," Barak told Israel Radio before briefing the security cabinet on the situation in Gaza.
 
"We are striving for a new reality in which there won't be activity from Gaza against Israeli civilians or our soldiers, a situation which will dramatically change the state of smuggling and in which quiet will prevail in the south," he stressed.
 
Barak said the "fundamental objective is to change the reality of security for the south (the Israeli areas that have come under Palestinian rocket attacks)".
 
The Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, called on his fighters to "crush your enemy". In a speech on Al Aqsa TV, he hinted that his supporters would target more Israeli civilians.
 
More than 30 Palestinian gunmen have been killed in the fighting as the IDF encircled Gaza City and its environs dividing the Strip by deploying troops along a direct axis to the beach.An Israeli soldier has also been killed in the fighting and around 55 injured, four of them seriously, as Palestinian militants continued to fire rockets on Israel's
southern communes.
 
With diplomatic initiatives to stop the fighting gaining speed, Israel is seeking help from international and regional partnersto prevent Hamas from rebuilding tunnels and rearming.
 
"It is clear Hamas cannot be allowed to rearm and we have to find workable solutions to prevent that rearming. And here our international and regional partners have a role to play," Mark Regev, spokesman for prime minister Ehud Olmert, said.
 
Egyptian officials said on Monday that they are going to demand an immediate ceasefire from Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli forces enteredthe 10th day ofthe current offensive in the coastal territory.
 
The Islamist faction, in control of the Gaza Strip, plans to send a delegation to Cairo on Monday for the first diplomatic talks since the launch of the Israeli operation aimed at stopping rocket attacks, Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said.
 
The initiative coinciding with European efforts led by French president Nicholas Sarkozy, who is to arrive in the region on Monday, has raised hopes for a possible ceasefire.

Israel's top military officials said the Hamas fighters were trying to draw soldiers deeper into Gaza's densely packed urban areas, where the militants were hiding. They said the Hamas was using mosques, public institutions and private houses as ammunition stores.
 
Hamas has warned that its fighters would turn Gaza into an Israeli "graveyard".
 
The ground offensive has been widely condemned around the world. United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has asked the divided Security Council and the world community to help bring a "speedy" end to escalating crisis.
 
Ban will also meet with Arab ministers in New York, as they have pressed for the passage of a Libyan draft resolution in the Council.
 
As Israel showed no signs of halting its ground invasion of Gaza, Ban recalled his special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Robert Serry from Jerusalem for a first hand briefing.
 
The Bush administration blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire and expressing serious concern at the escalation of violence.
   
Meanwhile, US vice-president Dick Cheney has said that Israel did not seek approval of America before launching air assault against Hamas in Gaza.
 
"They (Israel) didn't seek clearance or approval from us, certainly," Cheney said on Sunday.
 
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Israel to allow journalists and rights monitors access to Gaza Strip. Their presence, said the Human Rights Watch (HRW), could discourage abuse by the warring parties and help save lives.