Israel pounded Hamas-run Gaza on Thursday, killing 10 militants, four children and another civilian, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to make the Islamists pay a heavy price for rocket attacks.
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The four children, aged eight, nine, 11 and 12, were killed as they played in a field during an Israeli air strike around the northern town of Jabaliya, Palestinian medics said.
Another 12-year-old boy died of wounds sustained in a Gaza raid the previous day, and a shepherd was killed in northern Gaza.
The Israeli army said it carried out several air strikes targeting rocket-launching sites.
Twenty-nine Palestinians and one Israeli have been killed in two days of bloodshed, all but three of them in and around the impoverished Gaza Strip, where Israel has imposed a punishing blockade.
Among those killed have been a six-month-old baby in Gaza and a man in southern Israel who became the first Israeli victim of a Gaza rocket attack in nine months.
A Hamas gunman was also killed in an Israeli strike near the house of Ismail Haniya, the premier in the Hamas-led government that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas fired after the Islamists seized control of Gaza in June.
Following talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Tokyo, Olmert vowed to punish Hamas for the rocket attacks despite US concerns about civilians in Gaza.
"We will make the terrorists pay a very heavy price," Olmert told reporters. "We are at the height of this battle and we will pursue it until the danger threatening residents in the south ends."
Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned that "a large-scale ground operation is being considered" and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged the international community to accept such an operation.
"We don't accept arguments that there are victims in both camps, as one cannot put Palestinian terrorism that targets innocent civilians on the same footing as those who combat it, even if civilians are killed unintentionally," Livni said.
Rice said earlier she told Olmert that she supported his determination to end the Palestinian rocket attacks. "The issue is that the rocket attacks need to stop."
She is due to visit the Middle East next week as part of Washington's efforts to advance the peace process that was relaunched in late November but has made little progress since.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees called on Israel "to abide by international law and exercise maximum restraint, and not to endanger civilians".
"The killing of innocent children is always tragic and condemnable," UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told AFP.
The escalation in Gaza and nearby Israeli towns is causing "unacceptable distress and danger from the ongoing risk of attack", said the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Haniya blasted the "successive crimes committed by the Zionist occupation" and called on Arab countries to "stop their regrettable silence and act with urgency to stop the aggression."
The Palestinian government based in the West Bank also denounced "abominable Israeli crimes" in Gaza.
The latest outburst of violence around Gaza flared early on Wednesday when an Israeli strike killed five Hamas militants in the southern town of Khan Yunis.
In retaliation, the Islamists launched a volley of rockets into southern Israel, killing a man at a university on the outskirts of the town of Sderot, the first Israeli killed by rocket fire from Gaza since May.
At least 229 people, most of them Gaza militants, have been killed since the revival of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks three months ago, according to an AFP tally.
The bloodshed comes as Israel's US ally steps up its diplomacy in the Middle East in the hope of sealing a peace deal between Abbas and Olmert before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
On Thursday, Israeli troops also killed two militants in the northern West Bank town of Nablus, medics and security sources said.
On the Israeli side, two people were lightly wounded after Gaza militants fired more than 20 rockets and mortar rounds into the Jewish state, the army said.
In his talks in Japan, Olmert cast doubt on whether the goal of striking a deal by the end of 2008 was realistic.
this piece of sh*t olmert has the nerve to say its hard to make peace when you have to bury your innocent, he says that as his fellow filthy zionist vermin kill 5 palestinian kids including a 6 month old baby. the liars they are claim they struck rocket sites, they just struck palestinian kids playing football.
as far as im concerned hamas's rocket attacks are fair game, israel fires at kids playing football, so hamas has every right to fire rockets into every area of israel with no remorse or caution.
also watch how all the zionist fans on this forum will come here excusing israels murder of palestinian children, the same ppl who spew garbage about peace 24-7.
Re: Six Palestinian Children killed in two days by Israeli Terrorists
Body count and news quotes since Wednesday.
Palestinians - 80
Israelis - 1
In Gaza on Friday XXXX, 50, was burying his son, Omar, 14, killed while playing with his friends by an Israeli strike aimed at a rocket-launching team. “I couldn’t identify the body of my son,” he said. “It was very hard until I found the head of my son. I’m against these rockets, but I am afraid. What can I do? If I protest they will hit me, they will kill me.”
......
A woman at the funeral said: “Everyone is afraid now. Where is Abu Mazen, where is Haniya?” she asked, referring to Mr. Abbas and the Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya. “Come and protect us.”
....
Most residents hid in their homes. The Palestinian dead on Saturday included at least four children.
Hamas said that one girl, Malak Karfaneh, 6, died Friday night from an Israeli strike on Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, but residents said that a Palestinian rocket had fallen short and landed near the house, killing her and wounding three siblings.
How does this end? How can we get Israel to stop just blasting away? How do we get Hamas to stop firing missles?
Well, Israel justifies its actions as self defense, which is supported by the fact tha hamas contines to lob rockets in. Thus, not allowing those sympathetic with the Palestinians people to put political pressure on.
Hamas can't give up its quest to destroy Israel because they would lose face and the super hardcore militant factions are out of control, even though it was elected mainly on hopes to end corruption.
Is there no compromise or is this just the way its going to be forever?
By the way, all of these violent actions don't cause terror, they only make people angry and harden their resolve. It allows them to justify their own horrible actions.
Bombing (I'm talking both sides here) doesn't work in undermining peoples will to fight. It just makes them a worse enemy and less prone to compromise.
Re: Six Palestinian Children killed in two days by Israeli Terrorists
Yeah, shameful what the Israelis did. But Hamas shouldn't have sent some rockets into Israel and this incident would not have happened.
There will never be peace, both sides are guilty
peace
Im Always Right,Its Like,When Im Right,Im Right,And When Im Wrong,I Could've Been Right,So Im Still Right,'Cause I Could've Been Wrong!
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