Inside Gaza: Constant Airstrikes And Shelling

The sound of airstrikes from above and artillery fire from the sea is constant in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched a major ground offensive, Sky's Sherine Tadros reports from inside the Palestinian territory.

More than 100 targets were hit in the first 10 hours of the assault - which Israeli authorities say is aimed at Hamas and other groups who have been firing rockets at Israel - and Palestinians fear this could be "just the beginning of the ground assault".

Tadros said smokescreens were visible in northern Gaza, indicating that Israeli tanks could be as far inland as 3-4 miles (5-7km).

Israel stepped up its ground offensive in Gaza early on Friday

"We've also been seeing Palestinian rocket fire coming from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel, so that is clearly also continuing," she said.

"Palestinian fighters are trying to make the point they are still here and they are still fighting."

The Israeli military spent the early hours of the assault moving through the buffer zone along the Israel-Gaza border, Tadros said.

Smoke rises following what witnesses said were Israeli air strikes in Gaza

The Israeli authorities said they were clearing tunnels that they claim Palestinian militants use to try to infiltrate Israel.

"Israel says it is targeting terror tunnels but Palestinians really don't know what that means," Tadros said.

Overnight, power outages across the Gaza Strip left many areas in darkness.

An Israeli soldier stands near a mobile artillery unit outside Gaza

"It started in the northern part about 20 minutes or so before we heard the ground operation was under way," Tadros said.

She said flares fired from the Israeli side of the border were used to light up parts of the territory - a move that was then followed by renewed artillery fire or guided missile strikes. 

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UN Chief's Bid For Truce As Deaths Reach 300

As the head of the United Nations prepares to visit Israelis and Palestinians to try to end the violence in Gaza, 11 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight.

UK chief Ban Ki-moon will try to secure "a lasting" resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas when he visits the region, a senior UN official said at a UN Security Council emergency meeting last night.

The UN refused to say where Ban was heading because of security reasons, but said he wants to "express solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians," so he will almost certainly visit both sides.

The Palestinian UN representative, meanwhile, threatened to go to UN and international courts if the Security Council did not act to protect Palestinian civilians from Israeli attacks.

Riyad Mansour said that Israel's "savage" aggression into Gaza could not be justified "by any means".

But in turn, Israel's ambassador held Hamas responsible for the continuing violence, saying it "lives by violence and celebrates death".

Israeli soldiers stand on top of tanks and armoured personnel carriers

Around 300 Palestinians have been killed since fighting began 11 days ago, with another 2,000 injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza. One fifth of those have been children.

Figures provided by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights show that civilians account for more than 80% of the victims of Israel's assault since July 8.

Overnight, a strike killed seven people outside a mosque in the southern city of Khan Yunis, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al Qudra said. Three of the dead were from the same family.

Shortly afterwards four more people were killed in three separate strikes in Beit Hanun in the north, Deir al Balah in central Gaza, and another in Khan Yunis.

An Israeli Defence Force photo of apparent Hamas tunnels

Israel launched a ground offensive on Thursday, starting a new phase in the operation which it said aimed partly to destroy an underground network of tunnels used by Hamas.

It is the first major Israeli ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years.

The army has confirmed that a draft of 18,000 additional reserve soldiers has been authorised by the government on top of the 30,000 already deployed.

Israel's military said on Friday that it was ready for a "significant expansion" of a ground offensive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned: "My instructions are to prepare for the possibility of significantly widening the ground operation, and the military is preparing accordingly."

While the UN has condemned the indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, it says it is "alarmed by Israel's heavy response".

The UN has said it is stepping up emergency aid to Gaza, where Israel's military offensive has worsened water shortages and raised fears of increased sewage contamination and water-borne diseases.

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Israel Launches Ground Offensive In Gaza

An Israeli soldier and at least 11 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli military launched a large-scale ground campaign in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.

The offensive was aimed at destroying the weapons arsenal and infrastructure of Hamas, Israeli officials said.

"The prime minister and defence minister have instructed the IDF to begin a ground operation tonight in order to hit the terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel," said a statement from Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

A Hamas spokesman called the ground offensive "foolish", adding that Israel would "pay a heavy price".

Four members of one family in Khan Younis were among the dead, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. 

Flares fired by the Israeli military are seen above Gaza

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros, on the ground in Gaza, reported heavy shelling and bombardment.

She said: "The power has gone out over most of Gaza so we can't see very much, but what we can hear is terrifying.

"We have heard the sounds of constant bombardment coming from the naval ships for the past few hours. We have also seen flares lobbed over essentially to light up targets in Gaza and they were then shelled by the naval ships.

"We have also been hearing airstrikes and reports of many casualties going to the various hospitals.

"The power outage is causing havoc."

Gaza health officials said eight Palestinians were killed in the early stage of the operation, including a three-month-old boy who died after a shell hit his family's Bedouin tent in southern Gaza.

The operation comes after 10 days of intense fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas.

Israeli troops preparing for the incursion. Pic: Israeli Defence Force

It is the first major Israeli ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years. 

The army has confirmed that a draft of 18,000 more reserve soldiers has been authorised by the government.      

Mr Netanyahu's chief spokesman Mark Regev told Sky News the decision to launch the offensive had not been taken "lightly" but that action needed to be taken to "protect our citizens".

He said the chance of a ceasefire is now very unlikely: "This operation is only happening because Hamas rejected the ceasefire proposal supported by Egypt, a proposal supported by the United Nations.

"Hamas alone torpedoed the chance of a ceasefire and now Hamas is paying the price," Mr Regev said.

Earlier, Israel said it had foiled an attack by 13 Palestinian gunmen who tunnelled in from Gaza.

The Israeli army said the ground offensive is meant to strike a "significant blow to Hamas' terror infrastructure". 

"We know that Hamas terrorists are operating underground, and that's where we will meet them," Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said via Twitter.

Nightvision photo of Israeli troops in Gaza. Pic: Israeli Defence Force

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said the operation was destined to fail, in remarks to AFP in the Qatari capital.

"What the occupier Israel failed to achieve through its air and sea raids, it will not be able to achieve with a ground offensive. It is bound to fail," Mr Meshaal said from his exile in Doha.

Egypt's foreign ministry denounced Israel's "escalation" in Gaza and again demanded both sides accept a Cairo-proposed truce.

Thousands of Israeli soldiers had massed on the border with Gaza in recent days.

The ground campaign followed a brief truce earlier on Thursday in which Israel held fire to allow Gazans to stock up on food and other necessities after being largely holed up at home since the conflict began last month.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he regrets the escalation in Israel-Palestinian hostilities and urged Israel to do more to stop civilian deaths.

Israeli strikes have hit more than 2,000 targets in Gaza and Hamas launched nearly 1,500 rockets at Israel, the Israeli military has said.

Gaza health officials said 237 Palestinians, most of them civilians, had been killed since Israel began the air and sea offensive on July 8.

Israel has confirmed one death in the conflict.

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Answers Demanded After Jet 'Blown Out Of Sky'

Pressure is growing for an international investigation after a plane was allegedly shot down in eastern Ukraine killing all 298 people on board.

American intelligence has indicated Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was hit by a surface-to-air missile - but who fired it remains a mystery.

The jet, which was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling at an altitude of 33,000 feet (10,000 metres) when contact was lost.

An adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry told the Interfax news agency the Boeing 777 was brought down by a Buk ground-to-air missile. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board.

An emergency worker at the scene of the crash

As well as the nine Britons, the victims included 154 Dutch, 43 Malaysians, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos and one Canadian.

Three infants are among the dead, and the nationalities of 41 passengers have yet to be verified.

Many of the passengers were on their way to an International Aids Society (IAS) conference in Melbourne, and the Society has said they may have included one of its former presidents, Joep Lange.

Flames rise from wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines jet

Plumes of thick, black smoke could be seen rising high into the air near the village of Grabovo, Donetsk, where the airliner came down.

It was said to have split in half on impact, with burning wreckage scattered across a vast area.

Britain has joined the US and other countries in calling for an international probe into the disaster. US President Barack Obama has said it should be "prompt, full, credible and unimpeded".

Flight MH17 taking off at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands

Malaysia Airlines, still reeling from the loss of flight MH370 in March, has said the route taken by flight MH17 had been declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

It has announced all its European flights will be taking alternative routes with immediate effect.

A spokesman for the airline said: "Malaysia Airlines is in the process of notifying the next of kin of the passengers and crew. Our focus now is to ... provide (them with) all possible care."

The Interfax news agency has reported that the plane's 'black box' flight recorder has already been recovered.

Officials in Kiev were quick to deny any involvement in the crash, with President Petro Poroshenko lamenting what he called an "act of terrorism".

US Vice-President Joe Biden said the jet appeared to have been deliberately "blown out of the sky", with an unnamed US official blaming Ukrainian separatists backed by Russia.

Armed Russian separatists inspect the wreckage

However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai said the aircraft was shot down by Ukrainian government forces - a claim backed by another separatist who told Reuters the rebels do not have weapons capable of shooting down a plane at such height.

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Moscow, said Igor Strelkov, the commander of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic, appeared to have boasted about the incident on social media.

In one deleted message recovered by Sky News, he allegedly wrote: "We warned you not to fly over our sky."

The wreckage was scattered over a wide area

Ukraine's security service also released what it claimed was a recording of an intercepted phone call between two Russian military intelligence officers, discussing the downing of the plane.

Sky's Mark White, citing aviation sources, said the aircraft had been flying just 1,000 feet (300 metres) above a zone deemed "unsuitable for civilian aircraft".

"It raises questions about why the plane was near an area it had been advised not to fly through," he said.

A distressed woman waits for information in Kuala Lumpur

"Did it stray into that area by accident or did the pilot decide it was a risk worth taking, perhaps as a fuel saving measure?"

Data from Flightradar24 indicated the plane, which took off from Schiphol airport at 12.15pm local time, had just passed the city of Kremenchuk, around 186 miles (300km) from the Russian border, when it disappeared.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the incident was "absolutely unacceptable" and an "awful tragedy", but added: "This would not have happened if there were peace on this land ... and, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility."

The disaster is the latest in a series of reported attacks on planes in Ukrainian airspace and came a day after one of the country's Sukhoi-25 fighter jets was shot down.

The United Nations Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine later today.

:: Malaysia Airlines has set up an emergency line for worried relatives: 00 6 037 884 1234.

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Putin: Sanctions Could Cause 'Serious Damage'

Vladimir Putin has warned a fresh wave of sanctions will take US relations with Russia to "a dead end" and damage America's business interests.

The US and the EU have stepped up measures over what is viewed as Russia's interference in Ukraine.

President Barack Obama has imposed the most wide-ranging sanctions yet, targeting major banks, energy and defence firms including Gazprombank and Rosneft Oil Co.

Steps are also being taken to prevent rebel groups and senior officials in Ukraine getting hold of funds.

"Sanctions have a boomerang effect and without any doubt they will push US-Russian relations into a dead end, and cause very serious damage," Mr Putin said.

Mr Obama announces fresh wave of sanctions

"And I am convinced that this will harm the national long-term interests of the American state, the American people."

Mr Obama said the US measures were "significant but targeted".

"I've repeatedly made it clear that Russia must halt the flow of weapons and fighters across the border into Ukraine.

"So far, Russia has failed to take any of the steps that I mentioned."

Meanwhile, EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed a more limited package.

They agreed to impose asset freezes against around 11 more individuals but said measures will be expanded significantly at the end of July to cover "entities and persons" helping to undermine Ukraine's "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence".

The European Commission will also "reassess and potentially suspend" co-operation programmes with Russia.

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Israel And Hamas 'Accept Temporary Truce'

Israel and Hamas have agreed to halt fighting for five hours on humanitarian grounds on Thursday, while efforts continue to broker a longer-term truce.

A senior Israeli official told the Reuters news agency his country had agreed to a five-hour lull put forward by the UN, starting at 10am local time (8am BST).

A Hamas spokesman later said: "The Palestinian factions agreed to accept the offer from the United Nations for a cooling-down on the ground for five hours starting from 10 in the morning."

The father and brother of one of the children killed on the Gaza beach

The temporary deal came just hours after a group of Palestinian children were killed when a shell landed on the beach they were playing on.

Gaza's health ministry described the attack as "cowardly", while the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said the deaths appeared to have been a "tragic outcome" of a strike aimed at Hamas militants.

Leaflets were dropped warning of IDF strikes in Gaza

Promising a full investigation, an IDF spokesman added: "We have no intention of harming civilians dragged by Hamas into the reality of urban combat."

Earlier, Israel dropped thousands of leaflets, urging Palestinians living in northern and eastern parts of the territory to leave their homes.

It came amid continuing airstrikes on both sides of the border.

Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets in the first six hours of a failed ceasefire plan brokered by Egypt.

That led to fresh strikes on Gaza, home to 1.7 million people, with the homes of senior Hamas leaders reportedly among the targets.

More than 210 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have been killed over the past week.

Israel, which has said it will "expand and intensify" its offensive, also confirmed its first death of the week-long conflict.

A man who was delivering food to soldiers suffered fatal wounds when a Hamas rocket struck the Erez crossing on the Gaza border.

Hamas was told it would "pay the price" for rejecting the ceasefire plan but officials for the group said they had not been consulted on the proposals and would not halt violence without a fully-fledged deal including Israeli concessions.

People carry their belongings among building debris in Gaza

It wants an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza and the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as part of a truce deal.

It also wants Israel to free Palestinians it re-arrested after releasing them in a 2011 exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for more than five years.

In automated phone calls to residents of Beit Lahiya and the neighbourhoods of Shijaiyah and Zeitoun in Gaza City, the Israeli military told people to leave.

But Sami Wadiya, who lives in one of the areas likely to be targeted, said: "We know it's risky but there are no secure places to go to."

The raids have already prompted around 17,000 people to flee their homes, with many taking refuge in UN schools.

Israeli aircraft have struck close to 1,700 times in raids the country claims are designed to stop rocket fire from Gaza.

Since July 8, more than 1,200 rockets have been fired by militants towards Israel, hundreds of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system.

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Middle East: Old Formula For Peace Will Not Work

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Palestinians Urged To Leave Homes As Truce Fails

Israel's military has urged tens of thousands of Palestinians living in northern and eastern Gaza to leave their homes.

The move could signal more airstrikes are planned for those areas after Israel warned the ruling Hamas militant group would "pay the price" for rejecting a ceasefire plan.

Israel says it will "expand and intensify" its offensive as aerial assaults resumed on Tuesday after being briefly suspended following its acceptance of the Egypt-brokered truce.

Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets in the first six hours of the ceasefire plan which led to Israel restarting its strikes in Gaza - that has a population of 1.7 million.

The fresh raids hit Gaza City, southern Khan Younis, Rafah and central Johr al Deeq, killing five people, reported the AFP news agency.

Israel has confirmed its first death of the week-long conflict - a man who was delivering food to soldiers suffered fatal wounds when a Hamas rocket struck the Erez crossing on the Gaza border.

People carry their belongings among building debris in Gaza

The Israeli military has told residents of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya and the Gaza City neighbourhoods of Shijaiyah and Zeitoun in automated telephone calls to leave their properties.

Sami Wadiya, a resident of one of the areas likely to be targeted, said he would not leave his home. "We know it's risky, but there are no secure places to go to."

Prior to the calls, the raids have already prompted around 17,000 people to flee their homes, particularly in northern Gaza, with many taking refuge in UN schools.

Hamas officials said they had not been consulted on the ceasefire proposal and would not halt violence without a fully-fledged deal including Israeli concessions.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

More than 190 Palestinians, including many civilians - some children - have been killed by the bombardment over the last week and the Israelis say the raids are designed to stop rocket fire from Gaza.

Since July 8, Gaza militants have fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel - hundreds of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system - while Israeli aircraft have struck close to 1,700 times.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "It would have been preferable to have solved this diplomatically, and this is what we tried to do when we accepted the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire.

"But Hamas leaves us no choice but to expand and intensify the campaign against it."

He added: "Hamas chose to continue fighting and will pay the price for that decision. When there is no ceasefire, our answer is fire."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the movement had not been consulted on the truce bid.

"We didn't get to see the Egyptian proposal except through the media," he said.

"The idea of halting fire before there is any agreement on the conditions laid out by the resistance is unacceptable and we reject it."

Hamas has said it wants the end of Israel's blockade of Gaza and the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as part of a truce deal.

It also wants Israel to free Palestinians it re-arrested after releasing them in a 2011 exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for more than five years.

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Libya Mulls Call For Help After Militia Attacks

The Libyan government is considering calling for international forces to help re-establish security after several days of violence in the country.

At least 15 people have been killed in clashes in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi since Sunday.

And in the latest attack by militias, two people were killed and around 90% of the planes at Triploi airport were destroyed by rockets.

"The government is looking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority," a spokesman said.

Heavy fighting between armed groups has prompted the United Nations to pull its staff out of the North African country.

Seven people were killed in Tripoli on Sunday in the worst fighting for six months in the capital, where rival militias have been fighting for control of the airport.

Security and medical sources said at least six people had been killed and 25 wounded in Benghazi in heavy fighting between security forces and rival militias since Sunday evening.           

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has slipped deeper into chaos with its government and army unable to control brigades of former rebel fighters and militias who are fighting for political and economic power.

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Hamas Armed Wing Vows To 'Intensify' Conflict

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Search For Body As Costa Concordia Refloated

The Man Who Raised Costa Concordia

Updated: 6:30am UK, Tuesday 17 September 2013

By Tom Kington, on Giglio

The man who raised the Costa Concordia was given a hero's welcome on Tuesday by colleagues and residents of the island of Giglio, where the cruise ship capsized 20 months ago.

After running a control room on a barge near the wrecked vessel, salvage master Nick Sloane was greeted by a cheering crowd in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday as he returned to Giglio port after the successful 19-hour operation to right the ship.

Around 100 members of the 500-strong salvage team toasted the 52-year-old South African salvage veteran with beer and prosecco outside a café on the quayside, shortly after the Costa Concordia was pulled upright onto undersea platforms with giant pulleys.

"This has been the most satisfying job of my life," said DJ Degraaff, 35, a Dutch salvage master. "It's been a hard job but now we are relaxed and satisfied. The ship is resting and that was the goal."

Mr Degraaff said his biggest concern as the ship was rolled upright was that her bilge tanks would collapse. "But we had reinforced them and they held," he said.

There would be no time off now, he said, since work must now start on adding flotation tanks to the starboard side of the ship before she can be refloated and towed away from Giglio.

But Denny Hoffschlag, 34, a Dutch diver, said there was a "lot of joy" among the salvage team after righting the ship. "This has given me goosebumps," he said.

Mr Sloane was accompanied on the quayside by Rich Habib, CEO of Titan Salvage, which won the contract to raise the Costa Concordia.

"The stakes were so high, but it went just the way we planned it," said Mr Habib. The so-called parbuckling did last longer than predicted, 19 hours compared to the 12 forecast, something Mr Habib put down to the need to use slightly more force in the pulleys than had been predicted.

"It needed more oomph," he said.

Habib also said that after inspecting the side of the ship he had seen that the two granite outcrops on which the boat had rested for 20 months had not pierced the hull of the ship. "The steel of the ship compacted on the rocks rather than being pierced by it," he said.

The care taken in raising the Costa Concordia without breaking it up had been done to respect the surrounding martime park, in contract to the common salvage practise of blowing up vessels said Habib. "It's a little bit easier to blow things up," he said.

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Israel's Threat As Thousands Flee Northern Gaza

Israel has appeared to hold off on a threatened escalation of its Gaza Strip offensive, but Palestinian deaths continue to mount.

On Sunday, the Israeli military warned residents of the northern border town of Beit Lahiya to leave or risk their lives when, after nightfall, it planned to intensify air strikes against suspected Palestinian rocket launchers among civilian homes.

But despite a lone strike on farmland outside the town there has been little sign so far of the Israeli operation being ramped up.

However, Israeli troops launched a ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip, the first since the offensive against Hamas began.

Artillery flares illuminate the sky following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza

The navy commandos' brief incursion on Sunday - which ignored a United Nations call for a ceasefire - targeted a rocket launcher site, according to Israeli public radio.

The armed branch of Hamas confirmed that Israeli troops had exchanged gunfire with Palestinian fighters.

Thousands of residents in northern Gaza have fled their homes, after the Israeli military warning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would be hitting Hamas "with growing force," warning there was no end in sight. 

A picture tweeted by Israel claiming to target a militant rocket site

"We do not know when this operation will end," he told ministers.

In an interview on CBS's Face the Nation, he defended the offensive.

"When we began this interview we were under bomb alert and as the minutes passed now we're told people can go out into the open air again," he said.

"This is the kind of reality we're living in. And we'll do whatever is necessary to put an end to it."

Tel Aviv residents take cover during an air raid siren warning of an attack

Mr Netanyahu urged Americans to imagine US cities from the East Coast to Colorado, or 80% of the population, were under threat of rocket attack, with only 60 to 90 seconds to reach a bomb shelter.

"That's what we're experiencing right now, as we speak," he said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has phoned Mr Netanyahu to renew a US offer to help mediate a truce.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to ask the United Nations for international protection as the offensive continues.

Israeli soldiers rest in the shade of trees near central Gaza

Israel began its offensive on Tuesday in response to weeks of rocket attacks from Hamas militants in Gaza, who are understood to have fired more than 600 missiles into the country.

Two more rockets shot from Gaza were destroyed over the Tel Aviv area by the Iron Dome missile defence system on Sunday, several hours after another two rockets were intercepted over Lod, close to the country's main airport.

Hamas has denied being behind a rocket attack on Israel from Lebanon on Saturday evening.

A rocket fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights, falling on open ground and causing no casualties, an army spokeswoman told AFP.

Israeli soldiers walk across a field near central Gaza strip

Earlier that day an Israeli warplane bombed the home of Gaza's police chief and damaged a nearby mosque, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50.

It was the deadliest single attack during the conflict, which has now claimed 165 Palestinian lives and left more than 1,000 injured.

No Israelis have died so far in the latest conflict, and many of the rockets fired into the country have been intercepted by Iron Dome.

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Middle East: Complex Web Of Friends And Foes

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

Hamas has condemned the Hezbollah-backed regime of Bashar al Assad

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunni's enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq has taken up an operational roles inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client an ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Gaza Residents Told To Leave 'For Own Safety'

The Israeli military has ordered Palestinians living in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate "for their own safety".

Chief military spokesman Brigadier General Motti Almoz said Israel planned to step up its offensive against militants and hit the area with heavy force in the next 24 hours.

Officials say the area has been used to fire rockets at Tel Aviv.

Artillery flares illuminate the sky following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza

Israel has been massing military hardware and personnel to the border with northern Gaza and says it will send messages to residents overnight telling them to leave.

Sky's Alex Rossi counted at least 100 armoured personnel carriers and tanks a few miles from the border though an Israeli Defence Force spokesman told Sky News a ground invasion was not imminent.

Four Israeli ground troops were hurt after they raided a rocket launching site in Gaza, according to AP.

A picture tweeted by Israel claiming to target a militant rocket site

Israel began its offensive on Tuesday in response to weeks of rocket attacks from Hamas militants in Gaza, who are understood to have fired some 600 missiles into the country.

On Saturday evening, an Israeli warplane bombed the home of Gaza's police chief and damaged a nearby mosque, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50.

It was the deadliest single attack during the five-day conflict, which has now claimed more than 140 lives.

Injured Palestinians were rushed to al Shifa hospital in Gaza City as the bombardment continued.

Tel Aviv residents take cover during an air raid siren warning of an attack

Samah al Masri, the aunt of a four-year-old girl injured in the attacks, said: "As humans, you fear for your son and if you fear for your child or hear the sound of a rocket you will naturally want to hold them.

"When the child comes to hide in my arms and I find the entire house falling on top of us what do I do then?"

Dr Ayman al Sahabany, director of emergency ward at al Shifa Hospital, said: "Women and children are more than half of the casualties. And children form a third of the total casualties."

No Israelis have died so far, and many of the rockets fired into the country have been intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system.

Two rockets fired from Lebanon hit the Nahariya region in northern Israel late on Saturday, an army spokeswoman told AFP.

Israeli soldiers rest in the shade of trees near central Gaza

The Israeli military said it responded with artillery fire toward "the source of fire", according to AP.

Hamas unleashed a barrage of rocket fire on Saturday after warning it planned to target Tel Aviv.

Three rockets apparently targeting the Jerusalem area fell short, hitting Hebron and Bethlehem, according to the Israeli army and Palestinian security sources.

The army said four rockets were fired at Tel Aviv. Three were intercepted above the city and the other hit open ground south of it.

Israeli soldiers walk across a field near central Gaza strip

Israel has been criticised for the civilian casualties that have resulted from its offensive on one of the most densely populated territories in the world.

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said a majority of those killed so far are civilians.

Israel says it is acting in self-defence and accuses Hamas of using Gaza's civilians as human shields by firing rockets from there.

It said Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Gaza militant groups use religious sites to conceal weapons and establish underground tunnel networks, deliberately endangering civilians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not end the campaign until he achieves his goal of stopping the rocket attacks from a "terrorist organisation which calls for our destruction".

Former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya said: "(Israel) is the one that started this aggression and it must stop, because we are (simply) defending ourselves."

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