UN counts war damage in Gaza Strip
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Daily News with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 23, 2009 00:00
GAZA CITY - The U.N. urged Israel to reopen Gaza crossings as senior officials assessed war damage yesterday and Israel warned it would strike again if Hamas rearms through smuggling tunnels. "If you want to have reconstruction, you have to have cement and construction materials and pipes and spare parts," said U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes at a U.N.-run school hit by an Israeli missile in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
Two women, two children and an elderly man were wounded yesterday by fire from Israeli navy boats patrolling the Mediterranean, medics told Agence France-Presse. The army said it fired warning shots at a fishing boat. Otherwise mutual cease-fire were holding for a fifth day.
But Israel warned it would attack the territory again if Hamas uses smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian border to re-arm. "Things must be clear - Israel reserves the right to react militarily against the tunnels once and for all," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official has dismissed any reconciliation talks with rival Fatah group, according to an account by The Associated Press.
His remark yesterday followed claims by the militants that they emerged victorious after the group survived a relentless three-week offensive by Israel on the Gaza Strip.
Sami Khater, a member of the militant group's Damascus-based branch, said Arab and international donations to reconstruct the war-devastated Gaza should go directly to Hamas.
But Israel warned it would attack the territory again if Hamas uses smuggling tunnels under the Egyptian border to re-arm. "Things must be clear - Israel reserves the right to react militarily against the tunnels once and for all," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official has dismissed any reconciliation talks with rival Fatah group, according to an account by The Associated Press.
His remark yesterday followed claims by the militants that they emerged victorious after the group survived a relentless three-week offensive by Israel on the Gaza Strip.
Sami Khater, a member of the militant group's Damascus-based branch, said Arab and international donations to reconstruct the war-devastated Gaza should go directly to Hamas.