Israel launched a military strike Saturday night targeting the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya in Gaza City, setting it ablaze, BBC reported Sunday.
Mr. Haneya wasn't present at the time of the raid but he strongly condemned the barbarous attack on his office, calling on the international community to intervene to stop Israel's "insane policy".
"It's an attack against a Palestinian symbol. We ask the international community and the Arab League to take its responsibilities towards our people and intervene".
First missile struck Haneya's office shortly before 2300 GMT Saturday, sparking a blaze that was put out quickly by a team of Palestinian firefighters.
The strike marked the fifth straight night of Israeli air raids on Gaza.
Another missile hit the northern Gaza strip town of Jabaliya early Sunday, killing a member of Hamas' armed wing and wounding another.
Israeli strikes also hit a school in Gaza City.
Three of the security guards at the office were wounded in the raid.
Israel confirmed attacking Mr Haneya's office as well as two more Hamas sites in Gaza.
"The IDF will continue to employ all means at its disposal against 'Palestinian terrorist infrastructure' in the Gaza Strip to allow the unconditional return of Corporal Gilad Shalit," a Israeli military spokeswoman said.
Mr. Haneya met with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after visiting his office following the attack.
Political analysts say that the attack on the PM's office came as a warning to the Hamas-led government.
Striking Haneya's office follows repetitive Israeli threats against the Hamas-led government, which won the Palestinian elections last January.
Israel claims that its offensive in Gaza which began last week is aimed at pressuring Palestinians to hand over Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by a group of Palestinian resistance fighters, including members of Hamas.
False claim
But many experts disputed this claim, suggesting that it's a false justification for preparations for a full-scale military operation to reinvade Gaza.
Efforts by Egyptian mediators who have been trying to secure the release of the Israeli soldier in an attempt to end the current escalation have so far failed.
An official close to the negotiations told AFP news agency: "Our efforts to release the soldier have reached a dead end.
"We could not do any more to release him because there are too many demands interfering with our efforts."
Despite earlier claims by the Jewish State that it would delay a ground offensive from the north to give a chance for diplomatic efforts, Israeli gunboats and ground forces fired several hundred artillery rounds at Gaza on Saturday.
• Warning
Yesterday, a senior official from Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas' office warned that the Palestinian PM's life could be in danger if both sides, the Palestinian and the Israeli, failed to reach a solution regarding the release of the Israeli corporal, Gilad Shalit.
"His life is at risk if the Palestinian groups do not free the Israeli soldier," a high-ranking official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "There are Israeli threats against Ismail Haniya through the media," the official added.
At least 5,000 occupation troops and columns of Israeli tanks are poised on the Gaza border in the largest Israeli military operation since it withdrew from the Strip last August, ending a 38-year-occupation.
Israel had warned of "extreme measures" if the Palestinians insisted on not turning over the Israeli serviceman.
Yesterday, the Israeli government announced its rejection to new demands by the three Palestinian groups holding Shalit, including releasing all Palestinian prisoners held in its jails as well as ending Gaza offensive.
• Washington reiterates its support for Israel
In a 30-minute telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which was initiated by the Turkish side and focused explicitly on the Israeli offensive in Gaza, the U.S. President George W. Bush expressed support for Israel's position, saying that the Palestinians must release Shalit, the kidnapped Israeli soldier, arguing that his release would be the "key" first step out of an escalating crisis in Gaza.
"The president said that the initial goal should be freeing the Israeli soldier; that is the key to ending the crisis," National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones told reporters, citing a White House statement.
Source: AlJazeera
Our button
print version
