"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Hamas holds victory rallies as UN chief tours Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip-The U.N. chief inspected the devastation wrought by Israel's onslaught in Gaza on Tuesday, leading a moment of silence at the smoldering U.N. headquarters, as the territory's militant Hamas rulers, triumphant at having survived, held victory rallies amid the ruins.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, appearing stern and saddened at a ceremony at the burned out U.N. headquarters in Gaza, demanded an Israeli investigation into strikes on United Nations facilities.Ban asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence for victims of the offensive, who included nearly 40 Palestinians who had sought refuge at a U.N. school shelled by Israel."It has been especially troubling and heartbreaking for me as secretary-general that I couldn't end this faster," he said. He warned the truce is fragile, and called on Israel and Hamas to "exercise maximum restraint and nurture the cease-fire."Thousands of Hamas supporters thronged a square outside the remains of the parliament building in Gaza City, which was heavily damaged in an Israeli airstrike at the outset of the war. Two men hoisted a sign in carefully scripted Hebrew reading,"The resistance will be victorious,Israel has been defeated. "Israel and Hamas both ceased fire on Sunday, after an offensive that claimed the lives of some 1,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and 13 Israelis. The last of Israel's ground troops were expected to pull out of Gaza on Tuesday if the quiet holds, defense officials said.In a sign the militant group remained in control in Gaza, Hamas security teams in uniforms patrolled Gaza City."With full trust and full confidence I say the Palestinian people and the heroic resistance have won this battle," Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas official, said Monday. "Hamas today is stronger than any time before....The loser is the occupation." Thousands of Hamas supporters turned out to celebrate in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, raising their forefingers in the air as a sign of the their loyalty to the militant group, and waving the movement's iconic green flag. Bearded organizers in yellow vests kept the crowd in order and pro-Hamas music blared from loudspeakers.Around 800 people showed up for a pro-Hamas demonstration in the northern Gazan town of Beit Lahiya, the site of heavy fighting."For us, this was a victory," said Mohammed Abu Awad, 24, a university student.But the owner of a coffee stand located near the Gaza City rally criticized the festivities, given the steep Palestinian death toll."We can't talk about real victory because there were thousands of martyrs and we didn't liberate anything," said Jawdat Abu Nahel. "It's no time for a parade."
By BEN HUBBARD and ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer
As in the days of Noah...