The UN Security Council held a high-level emergency meeting late Tuesday as international pressure mounted for an end to Israel’s attack on Hamas in the Gaza.
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and French President Nicolas Sarkozy brought forward the cease fire proposal and offered to bring Palestinians and Israelis together for discussions.
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Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Ki-moon criticized both Israel for its bombardment of Gaza and Hamas for firing rockets into Israel and urged members to act “swiftly and decisively to put this crisis to an end.”
The cease fire proposal considered late Tuesday was proposed by Egypt and France but other nations were quick to support it.
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Rice told the Security Council that the United States understands “the urgency of an end to the fighting” and is working around the clock to achieve it. She cancelled her trip to China this week to stay engaged in the Middle East peace effort.
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Earlier in the day, President-elect Barack Obama broke his silence on the crisis, saying that “the loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me.” He declined to go further, reiterating his stance that the U.S. has only one president at a time.
John E. Carey
Wakefield Chapel, Virginia
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BREAKING NEWS FROM AP
1020 GMT January 7, 2009
The Israeli military says it will briefly halt its operations in Gaza during the day to allow in humanitarian aid and fuel.
Military spokesman Peter Lerner gave no specific time for the halt. But the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says the military has informed it of a planned lull between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m local time.
Israel has come under criticism for harming Gaza civilians during its 12-day-long offensive aimed at the territory’s militant Hamas rulers.
Gaza is suffering from shortages of basic supplies and fuel, and much of the strip is without electricity and running water.
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From the BBC:
On day 12, Wednesday, sounds of heavy gunfire and billowing smoke could be seen near Gaza City.
Israel has said it will halt its attacks on Gaza for three hours a day.
The pause, the first of which is due to start at 1100 GMT (1300) on Wednesday, will “allow residents to resupply, get aid and so on”, an IDF spokesman said.
Read the BBC report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7814772.stm
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The New York Times said:
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In the wake of the criticism over civilian casualties, Israel agreed to set up a ”humanitarian corridor” to ship vital supplies into the Gaza Strip. Under the plan put forward by the Israeli Defense Ministry, Israel would suspend attacks in certain areas to allow people to get supplies.
The Egyptian and French presidents released no details of their proposal, saying only that it involved an immediate cease-fire to permit humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks to settle the differences between Israel and Hamas, which rules the small coastal territory.
See the New York Times report:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/07/
world/AP-ML-Israel-Palestinians.html?_r=1
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Read the entire AP report:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_on_re_mi_
ea/ml_israel_palestinians
See all reports at the Jerusalem Post:
http://www.jpost.com/
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More from CNN:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/
meast/01/07/israel.gaza/index.html
