Hamas Condemns Gaza 'Massacre'

Khaled Meshaal called for Palestinians to wage a new intifada - or uprising - against Israel.In an interview on Al Jazeera television, he said:"We have called for a military intifada against the enemy. Resistance will continue through suicide missions."Dozens of people were killled when Israeli jets fired about 30 missiles into densely populated areas.Palestinian medics put the death toll at 225, many of them civilians, with hundreds more injured.Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert defended the action, saying the airstrikes came in response to repeated rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians, and warned that military operations in Gaza would "take time".Mr Olmert said: "It may take time, and each and every one of us must be patient so we can complete the mission."Israeli citizens ... it is possible that in the short term, the number of rockets will rise and they will reach farther than they have been accustomed."

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said: "The operation will go on and be intensified as long as necessary. It won't be easy and it won't be short. There is a time for calm and a time for fighting, and now the time has come to fight."Mr Barak, a former prime minister and head of the military, told Sky News he could not rule out the use of ground forces against militants in Gaza, which Israeli troops evacuated three years ago.The Israeli military said it had been targeting "terrorist infrastructure".Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip, said: "Palestine has never witnesses an uglier massacre."Hamas said the casualties included children walking home from school. Many Hamas compounds are built in residential areas.One police compound was hosting a graduation ceremony for new personnel when it was attacked.The dead include police chief Tawfiq Jabber, Hamas radio reported, while most of Hamas' police buildings have been destroyed.An IDF statement said: "Our aviation intervened massively against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to stop the terrorist attacks of the past several weeks against Israeli civilian installations."Our operations will continue and will be expanded if necessary."A spokesman from the Israeli embassy in London told Sky News: "They have enough time to evacuate civilians from those places but they don't do it."They didn't do it on purpose because they want Israel to cause them civilian casualties."Hamas and other Palestinian factions have ordered their troops to avenge the attack.A statement from Islamic Jihad said: "All fighters are ordered to respond to the Israeli slaughter."The Palestinian chief negotiator Hanan Ashwari told Sky News: "There is tremendous public outrage - this is a massive cold-blooded act, it has to stop immediately."Hamas deputy chairman Mousa Abu Marzook told Sky: "We act against Israeli aggression. The Israelis hit some people and we react against them with rockets."The attacks follow the end of a six-month truce between the two sides.Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I call on Gazan militants to cease all rocket attacks on Israel immediately."These attacks are designed to cause random destruction and to undermine the prospects of peace talks led by President Abbas."I understand the Israeli government's sense of obligation to its population. Israel needs to meet its humanitarian obligations, act in a way to further the long-term vision of a two-state solution, and do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties."Conservative foreign affairs spokesman William Hague said: "We deeply regret the loss of civilian life in Gaza today. We call on the Israeli government to show restraint."At the same time we call on Hamas to stop the rocket attacks which are an unacceptable threat to Israel's security, so that the ceasefire, which Hamas failed to renew, can be urgently restored."The United States did not call for the air strikes to stop but said caution was needed.A White House statement said: "Hamas must end its terrorist activities if it wishes to play a role in the future of the Palestinian people."The United States urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it targets Hamas in Gaza."In the West Bank city of Hebron Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at stone-throwing demonstrators protesting against the airstrikes on Gaza.
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