Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Military Space News .




WAR REPORT
Israel pounds Gaza as Palestinians urge resumption of truce talks
by Staff Writers
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Aug 10, 2014


Residents of a neighborhood in Gaza City gather to put out a fire at a soap factory moments after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike, on August 10, 2014. Image courtesy AFP.

Lebanon army death toll from jihadist clashes hits 18
Beirut (AFP) Aug 09, 2014 - A Lebanese army soldier died Saturday of wounds sustained in clashes with jihadists near the Syrian border, raising the number of troops killed in the fighting to 18, the army said.

The fighting broke out on August 2 when jihadists from Syria attacked army and police posts in the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal after the arrest of a militant accused of belong to Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.

During the fighting, 19 soldiers and 17 policemen were seized by the militants and are still being held hostage.

The Lebanese army began deploying into Arsal on Friday, after a group of Sunni clerics negotiated a truce that saw jihadists withdraw.

Palestinian negotiators have warned they will leave Cairo on Sunday if their Israeli counterparts do not show up for truce talks, after Israel pummelled Gaza with fresh air strikes that killed at least 10 Palestinians.

Negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza are expected to resume in Cairo on Sunday with an Israeli delegation scheduled to arrive in the city, where a Palestinian team and Egyptian mediators are waiting.

But an Israeli official told AFP that talks cannot take place until Palestinian rocket fire comes to a halt. Militants slammed 25 rockets into Israel on Saturday, amid mounting calls for a new ceasefire to halt fighting that has left nearly 2,000 Palestinians dead over the last month along with 67 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.

Two more rockets were fired at Israeli territory early Sunday, while the Israeli air force carried out 17 more raids, an army spokeswoman said.

Palestinian negotiators warned they would leave the Egyptian capital if no Israeli delegation showed up, with one senior Palestinian setting a 1300 GMT deadline.

"We have a meeting tomorrow (Sunday) with Egyptian (mediators). If we confirm that the Israeli delegation is placing conditions for its return, we will not accept any conditions," lead negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed told AFP.

Another senior Palestinian negotiator said they had given the Israeli delegation until 1300 GMT on Sunday.

Britain, France and Germany on Saturday urged Israel and Hamas -- the Islamist movement in de facto control of Gaza -- to agree to an immediate ceasefire.

A Hamas leader, Mussa Abu Marzuq, warned that the next 24 hours would be crucial.

Israel "is stalling and the next 24 hours will decide the fate of the negotiations", he said.

"We will not hold talks for a long time without serious discussions," he added overnight Saturday, calling Israel's attitude "not serious".

"We do not want an escalation, but we will not accept that there is no reply to our demands."

- Hamas-linked mosques destroyed -

The Cairo talks broke down on Friday after Hamas accused Israel of stalling and refused to extend a 72-hour ceasefire, setting off renewed hostilities that left 10 Palestinians dead on Saturday as Israeli warplanes battered Gaza with 50 air strikes.

The last month's fighting has devastated swathes of Gaza, with the United Nations saying at least 1,354 of the Palestinians killed have been civilians, including 447 children.

The Palestinian interior ministry said Israeli jets destroyed three mosques early Saturday. At least two of them were considered close to Hamas.

Gazan Ibrahim Taweel said the Israeli military telephoned him at 3:00 am, warning him to evacuate his nearby home five minutes before one of the mosques was attacked.

"I couldn't tell all my neighbours, so I evacuated myself and my neighbour and after five minutes an F-16 fired one rocket and after that a bigger rocket destroyed the mosque," he said.

The latest Palestinian rockets bring to 65 the number of projectiles launched at the Jewish state since the 72-hour truce ended on Friday morning, according to Israeli figures.

Israel says it has carried out more than 100 strikes in Gaza since Friday morning, targeting those responsible for the rocket fire.

- Protesters fill London and Cape Town -

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki meanwhile said his government would soon try to haul Israelis before an international court for war crimes.

"We will go to the ICJ (International Court of Justice), and put our signature on it. Very soon we will be a (sovereign) state. That is enough for the court to start an investigation," Malki told AFP on a visit to Colombia.

In London, up to 150,000 protesters packed Oxford Street on Saturday, marching to the US embassy and on to Hyde Park, many of them chanting "Free, free Palestine" and holding up banners saying "UK -- Stop Arming Israel".

Tens of thousands of demonstrators also marched through Cape Town to protest the Israeli military operation, one of the biggest rallies in the city since the end of apartheid.

The lifting of Israel's land and sea blockade, imposed in 2006 after Hamas captured an Israeli soldier, has been a key demand of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the Cairo talks.

A Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity that Egypt and the Palestinians had reached a draft agreement for submission to Israel.

It would see Egypt and the Palestinian Authority take control of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, essentially activating part of a unity accord Hamas signed with the PA in April.

Negotiations on the sea port, demanded by Hamas, would then be delayed and entrusted to the PA, with whom Israel is prepared to deal.

Israel waged the conflict to destroy Hamas's arsenal of rockets and its vast network of attack tunnels.

But combat has not resumed at the same fierce intensity, feeding hopes that a new truce could be agreed.

"Our hope is that the parties will agree to an extension of the ceasefire in the coming hours," US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), called for the Gaza blockade to end so reconstruction can begin.

"Huge swathes of Gaza have been levelled. We cannot rebuild it with our hands tied behind our backs," he said. "The blockade must end."

At least 65,000 people have had their homes destroyed, and UNRWA said 222,000 people are still sheltering in UN-run schools.

.


Related Links






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WAR REPORT
7 Lebanon troops freed after Arsal militant deal: report
Beirut (AFP) Aug 07, 2014
Seven Lebanese soldiers being held by militants in the Arsal region on the Syrian border were freed on Thursday after a truce deal, the official National News Agency said. The NNA said the seven were freed in an army operation, although there was no immediate confirmation from the military. The releases came after a delegation of Sunni clerics said it had negotiated a deal under which mi ... read more


WAR REPORT
US Congress approves funding for Israel's Iron Dome

MEADS International touts its air defense system capabilities

Space surveillance satellites being sent into orbit

Patriot getting enhanced radar capabilities

WAR REPORT
Nearly all Gaza rockets self-made: Israeli army

Russia has violated arms treaty by testing cruise missile: US

MD 530G attack helicopters fires Talon rockets

Missile decoy system on Australian, U.S. warships to be upgraded

WAR REPORT
Northrop completes UAV fuselage for NATO program

Brazil's Flight Tech exporting UAV

Drones thrill Martha Stewart... and US prison convicts

K-MAX unmanned cargo helo finishes Afghan deployment

WAR REPORT
Fourth MUOS Communication Satellite Clears Launch-Simulation Test

US looks to Japan space program to close Pacific communications gap

U.S. government using commercial Inmarsat 5 satellite

Lockheed Martin Selected For USAF Satellite Hosted Payload Initiative

WAR REPORT
USAF cargo loaders getting support from DRS

Army eyes lighter weight combat vehicles

Lockheed touts performance of its enhanced bomb guidance kit

F-35B Successfully Completes Wet Runway And Crosswind Testing

WAR REPORT
Rheinmetall cuts targets after veto on Russian contract

In-service support sector for military platforms to grow

Lebanon army urges France to speed up weapons delivery

Big win from Army for small Michigan business

WAR REPORT
Fighter jet shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine: AFP

Russian troop buildup on Ukraine border fans fears of incursion

Peace, prosperity and stability through partnerships: A grand design for a 21st century strategic mission

Fear as midnight airstrike hits close to Donetsk centre

WAR REPORT
A Crystal Wedding in the Nanocosmos

NIST shows ultrasonically propelled nanorods spin dizzyingly fast

Low cost technique improves properties of nanomaterials

Rice nanophotonics experts create powerful molecular sensor




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.