Scores Dead in Israeli Raid on Gaza

Scores dead in Israeli raid on Gaza | alJazeera.com

Israel has launched air strikes on Hamas installations across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 155 people and causing heavy damage, according to officials and witnesses.

At least 30 missiles were fired at targets on Saturday, with the head of emergency services in Gaza saying that at least 200 people were also wounded.

Hours after the Israeli strikes Gaza fighters fired rockets into southern Israel, heeding to calls by Hamas and other affiliated Palestinian groups to avenge the attacks, unprecedented in their scale.

At least one Israeli was killed in the rocket fire, Israeli medics said.

Among those killed in Israel's massive offensive was Tawfiq Jabber, the Gaza police chief.

Islam Shahwan, a Hamas police spokesman, said the missiles hit a police graduation ceremony in Gaza City.

The Hamas-run interior ministry said all security compounds in Gaza have been destroyed.

'War crimes'

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah, condemned the "aggression" in Gaza.

Mousa Abu Morzouz, the deputy leader of Hamas, told Al Jazeera: "Until now the aggression didn't stop ... they are targeting all the police headquarters and offices.

"We will defend out people, we will retaliate against this aggression ... our military will retaliate."

Marzouz called on the international community to condemn the attacks: "Nobody in this world can accept what happened and the Israeli aggression ... [we expect] the international community to stand agasint this and say that it is not acceptable."

Mustafa Barghauthi, former Palestinian information minister, said; "This is not an attack on the Hamas. Its an attack on the whole population and the free will of the people of Gaza."

He accused Israel of committing "war crimes" and demanded that Abbas and his government stop all relations with Israel.

'Only just beginning'

The Israel army released a statement saying "terrorist installations" were hit and that all Israeli pilots returned unharmed.

Palestinian officials called on the international community to condemn the raids [AFP]
The operation against the Hamas is "only just beginning," Avi Benayahu, an Israeli military spokesman said.

The air raids follow the decision by the Israeli security cabinet to increase reprisals for cross-border rocket attacks against Israel, and the breakdown of a six-month-old Israel-Hamas truce earlier this month.

Hamas ended the ceasefire saying that Israel had violated the truce the truce by preventing vital food and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said: "A series of explosions were heard over Gaza City.

"From where we are there are at least seven different clouds of smoke from the strikes.

"We are seeing some casualties being evacuated in cars."

Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip to receive injured people, Egyptian officials said. Ambulances have been dispatched to the crossing and two Egyptian hospitals emptied to take casualties.

Weakened security services

Mohyeldin said that Hamas, who rule the Gaza Strip, was being held responsible by Israel for any attacks from the territory into Israel, even if they are undertaken by other Palestinian factions.

However, officials of the deposed government in Gaza which maintains law and order, while being Hamas member in the main, are separate from the group's military wing and other factions responsible for attacks into Israel.

"There is within Gaza a functioning ministry of interior that has security services, traffic control, emergency medical services," Mohyeldin said.

"Those workers are seen as employees of the government in Gaza. So now that many of these installations have been targeted it will have an immediate impact in terms of the law and order structure here in Gaza."

Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said that Israel's decision to strike at this moment was down to Hamas withdrawing from the ceasefire and the intensified rocket fire coming from the Gaza Strip in recent days.

"In one day [in the past week] we saw 80 rockets ... which is a huge upsurge," she said.