.bmp)
.bmp)
Israel showed no sign of slowing a blistering seven-day offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, destroying homes of more than a dozen of the group's operatives Friday and bombing one of its mosques as Hamas ordered a "day of wrath" against Israel over the killing of a senior commander.Thousands of Israeli security personnel were placed on high alert and deployed around annexed Arab east Jerusalem after Hamas called for "massive marches" following the main weekly Muslim prayers."Police has been placed on a heightened state of alert throughout the country, just under the maximum level that is in effect in war time," a police spokesman told AFP.Israel destroyed the homes of more than a dozen Hamas operatives and bombed one of its mosques on Friday, while the Israeli army said troops massed on the Gaza border were ready for any order to invade.In what appeared to be a new Israeli tactic, the military called at least some of the houses ahead of time to warn inhabitants of an impending attack. In some cases, it also fired a sound bomb to warn away civilians before flattening the homes with powerful missiles, Palestinians and Israeli defense officials said.Israel launched the aerial campaign last Saturday in a bid to halt weeks of intensifying Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza. The offensive has dealt a heavy blow to Hamas, but failed to halt the rocket fire. New attacks Friday struck apartment buildings in a southern Israeli city. No serious injuries were reported.After destroying Hamas' security compounds, Israel has turned its attention to the group's leadership.In airstrike after airstrike early Friday, Israeli warplanes hit some 20 houses believed to belong to Hamas militants and members of other armed groups, Palestinians said.They said the Israelis either warned nearby residents by phone or fired a warning missile to reduce civilian casualties. Israeli planes also dropped leaflets east of Gaza giving a confidential phone number and e-mail address for people to report locations of rocket squads.Residents stepped over the leaflets.Israel used similar tactics during its 2006 war in Lebanon.Most of the targeted homes Friday belonged to activist leaders and appeared to be empty at the time, but one man was killed in a strike that flattened a building in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza...The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
