Israeli offensive will go on ‘for weeks’

VICTIM OF BRUTALITY: Palestinians bury four-year-old Lama Hamdan at Beit Hanoun after an Israeli missile killed her along with her 12-year-old sister on Tuesday. (Reuters)

GAZA CITY: Israel yesterday readied troops on the Gaza border and warned that its deadly assault, which has already killed at least 363 Palestinians, could last for weeks.

Later in the evening, Tel Aviv said it was open to the idea of a truce in its four-day offensive to allow shipment of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. But Hamas, which rules the strip, said there can be no truce without the opening of borders.

France has broached a humanitarian truce for Gaza as part of international efforts to stem the bloodshed from the airstrike. “If there is a proposal ... for a humanitarian truce, this does not contradict our preparations for a military operation,” Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog told Israel’s Army Radio, referring to the possibility of a ground invasion of Gaza.

“It could be that we would say, ‘okay, all right, for humanitarian needs only,’ and we would allow this. But of course this also depends on the other side, where it wants to take this confrontation,” Herzog said.

Hamas spokesman Mushir Masri said an end to the fighting is not enough. He said that if Israel halts “the aggression and the blockade, then Hamas will study these suggestions.”

Despite the devastating aerial pounding, Hamas fighters fired rockets deep inside Israel.

Children again fell victim to the Jewish state’s “all-out war” on Gaza, with two sisters dying when a missile slammed into their donkey cart in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. Since the massive aerial attack was unleashed Saturday, at least 39 children have been killed. Over 1,700 Palestinians have been wounded, Gaza medics said.

In Gaza City, residents picked through rubble and broken glass after a night which saw Israel hammering the overcrowded territory with some 40 strikes. “It was a night of horror, the way the earth shook,” said Iyad Al-Sayagh.

Jordan’s Queen Rania donated blood yesterday for the Palestinians in Gaza. “Queen Rania visited the Al-Hussein Medical Center today to take part in a nationwide campaign to donate blood and support the citizens of Gaza,” her office said in a statement.

In an article published in local newspapers, Rania, herself of Palestinian origin, also called on Jordanians to help ease the suffering.

With tanks and troops massed on the Gaza border, the Israeli military said “ground forces are ready” to join a prolonged offensive.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the bombardment so far was “the first of several stages approved by the security Cabinet.” Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai warned the offensive could turn into “weeks of combat.”

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hit back at critics yesterday and said he would not fully open the crossing into the Gaza Strip unless the Palestinian Authority was in control of the border.

“We will not deepen the division and that breach (among the Palestinians) by opening the Rafah border crossing in the absence of the Palestinian Authority and the European Union monitors,” Mubarak said, referring to the 2005 agreement over the border. Egypt recognizes Abbas as the legitimate Palestinian leader.

Rebuffing Arab appeals, Israel’s main ally Washington gave the offensive strong support. “The United States understands that Israel needs to take actions to defend itself,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.