GAZA CITY: Israel yesterday rebuffed European proposals for international observers in the Gaza Strip after any cease-fire as its forces pushed deeper into the territory, killing 50 Palestinians, 12 of them children.
The head of the territory’s emergency services, Muawiya Hassanein, said 555 Palestinians have now been killed since the start of Israel’s offensive on Dec. 27. At least 2,700 people have been wounded in air raids and tank shelling, he added.
World leaders expressed mounting concern about the impact of the fighting on civilians and Mauritania, one of only three Arab countries that has full diplomatic ties with Israel, said it has withdrawn its ambassador in protest over the offensive.
“The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has decided to recall its ambassador to Israel as of today (Monday),” a government source said in Nouakchott.
Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi left the door open for reconsidering diplomatic ties with Israel in the wake of the invasion.
“Given what is going on in the Gaza Strip, the government retains all available options, including the revision of its ties with countries in the region particularly Israel,” Dahabi told the lower house of Parliament.
At a press conference with visiting EU leaders, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said she saw no reason for an observation and monitoring force in Gaza. “I don’t see how this can help,” she told reporters.
Instead of observers monitoring any cease-fire, Israel wants an international mission on the Egyptian-Gaza border to focus on preventing Hamas from re-establishing a network of tunnels that could be used to smuggle in longer-range rockets and other weapons.
Earlier, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said his country favored a cease-fire that would include international monitors to ensure a truce between Israel and Hamas. He said Turkey is willing to contribute to such a mission.
US President George W. Bush also said any cease-fire to end the crisis must include provisions that prevent Hamas from using the coastal strip to fire rockets into Israel.
“Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided to use Gaza to use rockets to kill innocent Israelis,” Bush told reporters at the White House.
Hamas accused Nicolas Sarkozy of “total bias” in favor of Israel after the French president accused the group of acting “in an irresponsible and unforgivable manner.” Sarkozy made the comment following a meeting yesterday with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
Gunbattles intensified in eastern Gaza City and in the north of the strip yesterday. Palestinian fighters fired mortars and grenades and detonated mines, and said they have hit an armored personnel carrier. Witnesses said they were trying to lure Israeli soldiers into built-up areas.
An Israeli spokeswoman said the air force bombed more than 30 targets. Bombs hit a hospital morgue where a family was mourning a paramedic who was killed in an airstrike on Sunday. Three people were killed and 17 wounded, medical workers said.
The British aid charity Save the Children warned that newborn babies in Gaza are at risk of hypothermia because of freezing temperatures and a cut in the power supply.
— With input from Abdul Jalil Mustafa and agencies
