Palestinian protesters at a refugee camp in Amman, Jordan, shout anti-Israeli slogans during a demonstration against the unrelenting Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
GAZA CITY - ISRAELI warplanes and gunboats blasted more than two dozen Hamas positions on Saturday, targeting weapons storage facilities, training centers and homes of leaders.
But as the offensive against Gaza's Islamic militant rulers entered a second week, international cease-fire efforts were gaining momentum.
UNITED NATIONS - SECRETARY-General Ban Ki Moon is urging key world leaders to intensify efforts to achieve an immediate Israeli-Hamas cease-fire that includes international monitors to enforce a truce and possibly to protect Palestinian civilians, a UN official said on Friday.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and several Arab foreign ministers are flying to New York over the weekend to urge the UN Security Council to adopt an Arab draft resolution that would condemn Israel and demand a halt to its bombing campaign in Gaza.
JERUSALEM - ISRAEL'S deadly offensive on Hamas targets in its Gaza Strip stronghold entered its second week on Saturday, with truce efforts stalled.
The following are factors in what United Nations agencies say is a mounting humanitarian crisis in the impoverished territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.
MANILA - THE Philippines said on Saturday it will evacuate its citizens from Gaza in the coming week in the face of the Israeli military assault.
Preparations for the extraction and repatriation of the 21 Filipino
families in Gaza are expected to be completed by Monday, the department said in a statement, as the Israeli assault entered its second week.
GAZA CITY - ITS leaders are in hiding, its buildings have been blasted to rubble and its militants are tracked by Israeli aircraft, but Hamas still appears to be keeping its grip on the battered Gaza Strip.
Other than two taped speeches by the head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniya on the Islamists' television channel, the movement's leaders have made no public appearance since Israel launched 'Operation Cast Lead' a week ago.
There were tentative signs that the current phase of fighting was nearing its end. Most of the airstrikes targeted empty buildings and abandoned sites, suggesting the Israeli air force may be running out of targets. But ground troops remained massed on the border, waiting for the signal to invade Gaza.
The international push for a truce could play a big role in whether Israel invades. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting the region next week, and US President George W. Bush and UN chief Ban Ki-moon both spoke in favour of an internationally monitored truce.
Israel has already said it is open to the idea of international monitors. It is unclear whether Hamas would agree to such supervision, which could limit its control of Gaza. Hamas has ruled the area since seizing control in June 2007.
In Hamas' first reaction to the proposal for international monitors, government spokesman Taher Nunu said the group would not allow Israel or the international community to impose any arrangement, though he left the door open to a negotiated solution.
'Anyone who thinks that the change in the Palestinian arena can be achieved through jet fighters' bombs and tanks and without dialogue is mistaken,' he said.
Israel launched the offensive on Dec. 27 in response to intensifying rocket fire by Hamas militants in Gaza. The operation has killed more than 430 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, according to Palestinian and UN counts. Four Israelis have also been killed, and rocket attacks on southern Israel persist.
In the latest attacks, the army struck the homes of two Hamas operatives, saying the buildings were used to store weapons and plan attacks. Hamas outposts, training camps and rocket launching sites also were targeted, it said.
It also struck the American International School, the most prestigious educational institution in Gaza. The school is not connected to the US government, but teaches an American curriculum in English.
The airstrike demolished the school's main building and killed a night watchman. Two other Palestinians were killed in a separate airstrike, while four others, including a midlevel militant commander, died of wounds sustained earlier, Gaza health officials said.
Early on Saturday, the army dropped leaflets in downtown Gaza City ordering people off the streets. The warnings were followed by several airstrikes.
Palestinian militants fired at least 10 rockets into southern Israel, lightly wounding one person, police said. One rocket scored a direct hit on a house in the southern city of Ashkelon and another struck a bomb shelter there, leaving its aboveground entrance scarred by shrapnel.
The Israeli airstrikes have badly damaged Gaza's infrastructure, knocking out power and water in many areas and raising concerns of a looming humanitarian disaster.
Israel briefly opened its border Friday to allow nearly 300 Palestinians with foreign passports to flee the besieged area. The evacuees told of crippling shortages of water, electricity and medicine.
'There is a critical emergency right now in the Gaza Strip,' said Maxwell Gaylard, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinians Territories.
Israel denies there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and has increased its shipments of goods into Gaza. It says it has confined its attacks to militants while trying to prevent civilian casualties.
While ground troops remained poised to enter Gaza, Israel also has left the door open to a diplomatic solution, saying it would accept a cease-fire if it is enforced by international monitors.
This latest round of violence erupted after the expiration of a six-month cease-fire that was repeatedly marred by sporadic rocket attacks on Israel.
Israeli defense officials said some 10,000 troops, including tank, artillery and special operations units, were prepared to invade. The officials said top commanders are split over whether to send in ground forces, in part because such an operation could lead to heavy casualties as well as a belief that Hamas already has been dealt a heavy blow. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified discussions.
Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, speaking from Damascus, Syria, warned that any ground assault would lead Israel to 'a black destiny of dead and wounded'. He asserted that the group had sustained minimal losses.
He did, however, say Hamas was 'ready to cooperate with any effort leading to an end to the Israeli offensive against Gaza, lifting the siege and opening all crossings.' Israel's call for international monitors appeared to be gaining steam.
At the United Nations, Mr Ban urged world leaders to intensify efforts to achieve an immediate cease-fire that includes monitors to enforce the truce and possibly protect Palestinian civilians.
In Washington, Mr Bush on Friday branded the rocket fire an 'act of terror' and outlined his own condition for a cease-fire in Gaza, saying no peace deal would be acceptable without monitoring to halt the flow of smuggled weapons to terrorist groups.
'The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to achieve a meaningful cease-fire that is fully respected,' Bush said in his weekly radio address. 'Another one-way cease-fire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice.'
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continued furious telephone diplomacy to arrange a truce, but said she had no plans to make an emergency visit to the region.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delayed a planned trip to the United Nations so he could meet with Mr Sarkozy and a high-level EU delegation on Monday. He now plans on speaking at the UN on Tuesday, said Abbas aide Saeb Erekat.
At the UN, Mr Abbas is expected to urge the Security Council to adopt an Arab draft resolution that would condemn Israel and demand a halt to its bombing campaign in Gaza.
Mr Abbas, whose forces in Gaza were ousted by Hamas in June 2007, still claims authority over the area.
The council is expected to discuss the draft resolution on Monday. But the United States said the draft is 'unacceptable' and 'unbalanced' because it makes no mention of halting the Hamas rocket attacks. -- AP
