.bmp)
.bmp)
JERUSALEM-Israel has closed all border crossings into Gaza, cutting off food and humanitarian supplies to the coastal strip in a bid to pressure its Hamas rulers to stop a barrage of rocket attacks on Israeli towns, defense officials said Friday.Ten rockets slammed into southern Israel on Friday, one damaging a day care center in the town of Sderot and another hitting Ashkelon, a town of 120,000 people. No injuries were reported.Israeli aircraft fired on rocket launchers in northern Gaza in retaliation.Hamas security officials said two Palestinians were killed-a Hamas militant who had just fired rockets and a 17-year-old civilian who apparently was an onlooker. The rocket attacks escalated following an Israeli anti-rocket raid in Gaza that left 19 Palestinians dead Tuesday, including the son of a prominent Hamas leader.About 20 trucks of food scheduled to enter Gaza on Friday would not be allowed through, said Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror. The crossings are routinely closed Saturdays, and may not be reopened Sunday morning if the rocket fire continues, he said.The territory, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, receives food and humanitarian supplies from Israel and aid organizations."It's time that Hamas decide to either fight or take care of its population," Dror said. "It's unacceptable that people in Sderot are living in fear every day and people in the Gaza Strip are living life as usual."Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since Hamas violently seized the territory in June, but continued to allow in basic food items and humanitarian supplies. With those now cut off, life is certain to become more difficult for Gaza's already impoverished residents, who have suffered from erratic supplies of some food, fuel, spare car parts, computer paper and goods.Dror said Gazans had enough food that no one would go hungry and assured "there will not be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza."The increasing violence has clouded Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, resumed after a Mideast conference in November sponsored by President Bush. The Israeli operations have drawn condemnations from moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who rules from the West Bank and is Israel's partner in the peace negotiations.The United Nations condemned Israel's order."This can only lead to the deterioration of an already dire situation," said Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for UNRWA, the U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees. Closing the crossings "can only lead to the further radicalization of a depressed and demoralized people."UNRWA's leading official in Gaza, John Ging, said Israel had informed his office that the crossings would be closed for a few days. On a regularly working day an average of 120 trucks of food and humanitarian supplies enter Gaza, Ging said.Dror said about 9,000 cows have been allowed into Gaza in the past two months, enough for several weeks even if meat supplies are cut off.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel's decision was "part of the ongoing Israeli escalation and aggression policy against our people."At least 30 Palestinians have been killed since Tuesday, mostly armed militants.Hamas and other groups have fired more than 150 rockets and mortars since Tuesday, according to the Israeli military. The strikes caused no serious injuries, but have further traumatized Israeli residents who have been living with daily barrages for years.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Thursday that Israel would not stand for the relentless salvos and vowed to strike at Palestinian militants "without compromise, without concessions and without mercy." Olmert toured Sderot, the Israeli town that is the preferred target for Palestinian rocket squads, late Thursday.A spokesman for Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeineh, said the violence was calling into question further peace talks. "No one can proceed with negotiations when the situation is like this," he told The Associated Press.Israel's military has been unable to counter the low-tech, short-range rockets that have plagued Israel's south for six years, killing 12 people. Airstrikes and pinpoint ground operations have killed hundreds of Gaza militants, and full-blown invasions have caused widespread casualties and damage-but none of the measures have stopped the rocket fire for long.While ratcheting up its military response in Gaza, Israel has scaled back operations in the West Bank as it talks peace with Abbas' government, and has granted amnesty to hundreds of Palestinian gunmen there. But some army raids continue, especially in the town of Nablus, considered a hotbed of militant activity.Early Friday, Israeli troops in Nablus killed a wanted Palestinian militant from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group tied to Abbas' Fatah movement, according to the military and Palestinian officials. The military said the man was responsible for planning suicide bombings and manufacturing weapons. As in the days of Noah....
