Israel's offensive has killed at least 400 children according to the UN AFP]
Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, has announced a unilateral truce in the Gaza Strip.
Israel will halt its offensive in Gaza at 0000 GMT on Sunday but troops will remain in the enclave for the time being and will respond to Hamas fire, Olmert said on Saturday.
The announcement came after a meeting of Israel's security council on Saturday evening and halts the 22-day offensive which has left more than 1200 Palestinians dead, more than 400 of them children.
Mission accomplished
"We have reached all the goals of the war, and beyond," Olmert said.
"If our enemies decide to strike and want to carry on then the Israeli army will regard itself as free to respond with force," he added.
He said the war boosted Israel's deterrence and that Hamas's actions would decide when the military would withdraw.
"This operation strengthened the deterrence of the State of Israel in the face of all those who threaten us.
"If Hamas completely stops its attacks, we will judge at what moment we will leave the Gaza Strip," he said.
Hamas defiant
Hamas, however, said it would continue fighting in Gaza as long as Israeli troops remained in the Hamas-ruled Strip.
"If the Israeli military continues its existence in the Gaza Strip, that is a wide door for the resistance against the occupation forces," Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Lebanon told Al Jazeera.
Fawzi Barhum, a Hamas spokesman, said: "The Zionist enemy must stop all its aggression, completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip, lift the blockade, and open the crossings. We will not accept the presence of a single soldier in Gaza.
"The enemy's declaration of a unilateral ceasefire confirms that this is a unilateral war launched in one direction, from the enemy upon our people," Barhum, who is in Gaza, said in a statement.
Speaking at a forum in Beirut, Hamdan called on Arab leaders to stand by the Palestinian "resistance" and urged European nations to cut ties with Israel for its "crimes" in Gaza.
Israel has shelled Gaza with white phosphorus after it called for a unilateral ceasefire, in an obvious violation of its own declaration.
A Press TV correspondent on the ground in Gaza reported the event soon after the ceasefire the ceasefire was supposedly in afffect.
Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Tel Aviv will observe a 'unilateral ceasefire' at 2:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) after pounding Gaza non-stop for 22 consecutive days.
However, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum responded that, Israel must stop all its aggression, completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip, lift the blockade, and open the border crossings.
Hamas also declared that it will not accept the presence of a single Israeli soldier in Gaza.
Israel later said that the troops will not leave Gaza and failed to address the issue of open border crossings in its ceasefire declaration.
Around 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 6,000 others have been wounded in the beleaguered Gaza strip since December 27.
Asalam alaikum,
I was so excited to read about a possible cease fire, but now with reading on I am thinking is not one at all!!
I will keep the people in my prayers and continue to pray that Allah will help them!
It kills me to hear about the coldhearted things that are happening and where is the UN???? Where is there protection!
We are talking about an illegal israel which has violated more UN resolutions then any other country in the world
I didnt expect these terrorists to stop.
The israelis are the most compulsive liars on the planet.
Exactly
, Like it has already been mentioned the Zionist (war mongers) must leave Gaza. WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE NOT FORGET :enough!:
I think now we should put pressure on the UN exposed its failures.
The UN in its current state is a jokes... This must NEVER be allowed to happen again.
, Like it has already been mentioned the Zionist (war mongers) must leave Gaza. WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE NOT FORGET :enough!:
I think now we should put pressure on the UN exposed its failures.
The UN in its current state is a jokes... This must NEVER be allowed to happen again.
'NEVER be allowed to happen again'? Mate as long as America is around Israel can do what ever they want to us muslims, the UN can't do ****, even after their own buildings were bombed
'NEVER be allowed to happen again'? Mate as long as America is around Israel can do what ever they want to us muslims, the UN can't do ****, even after their own buildings were bombed
Mate like i said this must never be allowed to happen agian. America or no america. I know what you are saying but if we just accept this fact we will alway be under their thumbs. Efforts need to be made whether in vain or not WE cannot accept it.
If or When this happens again (although still going on - Ceasefire my foot) at least we tried to do something and not just feel complete Anger and dispair.
Israel will halt its offensive in Gaza at 0000 GMT on Sunday but troops will remain in the enclave for the time being and will respond to Hamas fire, Olmert said on Saturday.
how is that any different to what they were doing before
Mission accomplished
so, what are they still doing there then :S
"We have reached all the goals of the war, and beyond," Olmert said."If our enemies decide to strike and want to carry on then the Israeli army will regard itself as free to respond with force," he added.
i "love" his "macho" talks...you can see right through that its just "hot air"
...desperate for husnul-khitaam...
please make dua that Allah grants me a good end (to my life). please make dua that Allah guides me.
Mate like i said this must never be allowed to happen agian. America or no america. I know what you are saying but if we just accept this fact we will alway be under their thumbs. Efforts need to be made whether in vain or not WE cannot accept it.
If or When this happens again (although still going on - Ceasefire my foot) at least we tried to do something and not just feel complete Anger and dispair.
Efforts such as putting pressure on the UN are pathetic, we are muslims look at our history, we've never won conflicts by sucking up to kuffar organisations, Jihad is the only way against this kind of oppression
Efforts such as putting pressure on the UN are pathetic, we are muslims look at our history, we've never won conflicts by sucking up to kuffar organisations, Jihad is the only way against this kind of oppression
Who talking about sucking up. I am saying put presssure and demand reforms. If Arab and so called Muslim Coutries stay with the UN then the vote must count. Not America veto's everything that is a dictatorship on their part, otherwise They should leave the UN. All i am saying is that we cant say oh its over and sit back until it happens again. Thats what happened after Lebanon. We got angry for a while then sat back... This cannot happen again.
We need need to be active in trying to prevent this happening again... As we ALL know it will.
Jihad comes in many forms and the Stuggles we face in what i have mentions will also be our Jihad. Although i agree with your point on Jihad..
what? does he expect hamas to just automatically stop after butchering ****loads of palestinians?
I expect he does, at least as far as that is the only rational reaction for Hamas. Sadly, I don't think they are rational.. otherwise they would never have fired those bl**dy rockets in the first place.
To put it bluntly any damage Hamas may do to Israel is dwarfed by the damage Israel can/will do to them in return. The only result is more butchering of civilians purely for the purpose of making some sort of gesture. Is that a price worth paying? There will be no 'Jihad', at least in any effective sense, and even if there were the consequence would only be a repeat of what we have seen on a far larger scale. That is not an option. The only option is to sit down, talk and agree a realistic settlement. The only realistic settlement is a two-state solution. Anything else is not only a fantasy, it is a very dangerous fantasy likely to get hundreds of thousands of people killed in achieving, at best, control of country-sized radioactive slag-heap.
"Troops would remain in Gaza for the time being and if Hamas held fire, the military would "consider pulling out of Gaza at a time that befits us"." (from the bbc link to this news)
I expect he does, at least as far as that is the only rational reaction for Hamas. Sadly, I don't think they are rational.. otherwise they would never have fired those bl**dy rockets in the first place.
To put it bluntly any damage Hamas may do to Israel is dwarfed by the damage Israel can/will do to them in return. The only result is more butchering of civilians purely for the purpose of making some sort of gesture. Is that a price worth paying? There will be no 'Jihad', at least in any effective sense, and even if there were the consequence would only be a repeat of what we have seen on a far larger scale. That is not an option. The only option is to sit down, talk and agree a realistic settlement. The only realistic settlement is a two-state solution. Anything else is not only a fantasy, it is a very dangerous fantasy likely to get hundreds of thousands of people killed in achieving, at best, control of country-sized radioactive slag-heap.
For now I don't think it'll work. Israel have taken it this far, what is gonna stop hamas from continuing? unless they run out of ammo or die from starvation, if they manage to prevent weapons smuggling. Whats gonna stop Israel, its clear they haven't achieved their 'obejectives', seeing as rockets were sent over right after the self-declared ceasefire had begun
Israel say they want a two state solution, but they won't let the Palestinians prosper due to the blockade and control on Gaza as as well as much of the West Bank. This is the hypocrisy of the Jewish state.
‘Say: If the ocean were ink wherewith to write out the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted, even if We added another ocean like it.’~Al Qu'raan (18:109)
Israel say they want a two state solution, but they won't let the Palestinians prosper due to the blockade and control on Gaza as as well as much of the West Bank. This is the hypocrisy of the Jewish state.
They dont want a 2 state solution its all lies. Their ambition expand and their actions are clear for all to see. They will talk about a 2 state solution to the US and media but this is just to give themselve time.
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