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               Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Stretch Into Sixth Day

   by VOA News

   Israel's offensive to stop rocket fire from Gaza militants has
   stretched into a sixth day, with Palestinian medics saying Israeli
   airstrikes killed at least 10 people Monday.
   Medics say at least 87 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began
   its campaign last Wednesday.  Palestinian rocket attacks have killed
   three Israeli civilians.
   Israel's military said that overnight it targeted 80 sites in the Gaza
   Strip, including several police headquarters of the Islamist group
   Hamas, underground rocket-launching sites and tunnels used by
   militants.
   The military reported a few rockets being fired from Gaza into Israel
   on Monday, and said that the Iron Dome defense system had intercepted
   more than 300 rockets since the offensive began.
   Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ilana Stein acknowledged on Sunday
   that some Gaza civilians have been killed by Israeli warplanes
   targeting militants.  Airstrikes Sunday killed at least 21
   Palestinians, including 11 civilians in a multi-story house in Gaza
   City.  It was not clear whether militants were among the casualties.
   U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday that efforts to resolve the
   fighting must begin with Gaza militants ending their rocket barrage of
   Israel.
   Obama reiterated U.S. support for Israel's right to defend itself and
   said it would be "preferable" to end the missile fire without an
   Israeli escalation of its offensive.  Obama said he has had several
   conversations with the leaders of Israel, Egypt and Turkey in recent
   days to try to achieve that goal.
   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he is prepared to
   "significantly expand" operations against Gaza militants.  His
   government has massed thousands of troops on Israel's border with Gaza
   in preparation for a possible ground invasion of the Hamas-run
   territory.
   An Israeli official arrived in Cairo for Egyptian-mediated talks on a
   potential truce with Hamas.  Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim
   Brotherhood movement has ideological ties to the Palestinian group.
   Cairo also maintains a peace agreement with Israel.
   While in Bangkok, Obama said that supporters of the Palestinian cause
   should recognize that further escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict
   would mean that efforts to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process
   will be "pushed way into the future."
   In Sunday's strikes on Gaza, Israeli warplanes also attacked two
   adjacent buildings housing media offices, wounding eight journalists,
   one of whom lost a leg.  Israel's military said it attacked
   communications equipment used by Hamas and urged reporters to stay away
   from militant positions and operatives.
   The media rights group Reporters Without Borders condemned Israel,
   accusing it of obstructing freedom of information.  The group also
   demanded an immediate end to such attacks. Israel says it has no
   intention of harming members of the foreign media and that it continues
   to allow them to enter Gaza to do their work.
   Israel began its offensive with a November 14 air strike that killed
   Hamas's military leader in Gaza.  It said the attack was in response to
   weeks of intensifying rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israeli
   communities.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/israeli-airstrikes-on-gaza-stretch-into-sixth-day/1548665.html