Scale of Gaza Destruction Emerges

The full scale of devastation in Gaza following Israel's three-week offensive is becoming clear, after both Israel and Hamas declared ceasefires.

UN official John Ging said half a million people had been without water since the conflict began, and huge numbers of people were without power.

Four thousand homes are ruined and tens of thousands of people are homeless.

Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said he expected border crossings to open for aid later on Monday.

"We are going to see a massive volume of aid entering the Gaza Strip," he told the BBC.

"Medicines, foodstuffs, energy, all will be reaching the Gaza Strip in the volume that is required and in an expeditious manner."

Speaking at an Arab League summit in Kuwait, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for the formation of a national unity government in the Palestinian territories, along with simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections.

The league is expected to discuss a proposal for a $2bn (£1.3bn) fund for reconstruction in Gaza. Saudi King Abdullah said his country would donate $1bn.

Correspondents say the summit was supposed to focus on economic reform, but has been overshadowed by the Gaza crisis and the divided political response of Arab leaders.

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak accused Hamas of inviting the Israeli offensive by not extending a six-month ceasefire - brokered by Egypt - when it expired last month.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he wanted troops to leave as quickly as possible, and some have already left.

The BBC's Christian Fraser, on the road from Rafah in the south to Gaza City in the north, says the troops are pulling out fast.

Traffic jams are building up, as people try to get to Gaza City to reunite with friends and relatives, he says, while Hamas fighters stride confidently down the road with rifles slung across their shoulders.

Big questions

Israel called a ceasefire on Saturday, saying it had met its war aims.

Hamas later declared its own truce with one of its leaders claiming a "great victory" over Israel and saying its ability to fire rockets had not been affected by the Israeli strikes.

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Jerusalem says many people face shortages of food, medicine and fuel.

Mr Ging, director of operations for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), said most important was how to get basic supplies into Gaza.

"We have a big recovery operation ahead of us, reconstruction - none of it will be possible of course, on any scale, until we get crossing points open," he told the BBC.

Unrwa was keen to reopen its schools, Mr Ging said, where 50,000 people were sheltering. Tens of thousands have been made homeless by the bombardment.

Big questions remain, our correspondent says, such as who will police Gaza's southern border with Egypt and how much power Hamas still has.

At least 1,300 Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources, and 13 Israelis have been killed since Israel launched its offensive on 27 December. Palestinian medical sources say at least 95 bodies have been pulled from the rubble since Israel halted its assault.

Correspondents say the ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile, although no air strikes, rocket attacks or major clashes were reported overnight.

Palestinian militants fired about 20 rockets over the border after the Israeli ceasefire announcement, and Israel responded with an air attack.

'Israeli failure'

Surrounded by an array of European political leaders, some of whom were highly critical of Israel's tactics in the conflict with Hamas, the Israeli prime minister said his country was not interested in staying in the Gaza Strip.

"We didn't set out to control Gaza, we don't want to remain in Gaza and we intend on leaving Gaza as quickly as possible," he said.

Anonymous Israeli officials, quoted by AP news agency, said the withdrawal would be completed before US President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday.

Correspondents say Israeli leaders want to get off to a smooth start with the new administration in Washington.

The European leaders had travelled to Israel to lend their support to the ceasefires.

The top Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, said Israel had "failed to achieve its goals".

In a speech broadcast on Hamas TV, he said: "God has granted us a great victory, not for one faction, or party, or area, but for our entire people."

Hamas said it would hold fire for a week to give Israel time to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip.

A spokesman for Hamas' military wing, Abu Ubaida, said its rocket capabilities had not been affected by the conflict.

"We hereby stress that our rockets are being developed and are piling up, and that the enemy will receive more rockets and God willing, our rockets will hit more targets," he said in a news conference broadcast live on Hamas' al-Aqsa TV.


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I'm glad they have again chosen to try peace, even though it will only be a matter of days, or if they're lucky, weeks, before Hamas launches another attack and it starts all over again. In the mean time, at least the Palestinian people will get the much needed aid and services they have been lacking these last 3 weeks.

Grim17 wrote:I'm glad they have again chosen to try peace, even though it will only be a matter of days, or if they're lucky, weeks, before Hamas launches another attack and it starts all over again. In the mean time, at least the Palestinian people will get the much needed aid and services they have been lacking these last 3 weeks.

They already broke it, Hamas shot about 20 rockets at Israel and they answered with an airstrike. They have their own separate ceasefires, not an agreement between the two, from what I been reading, which makes no sense whatsoever. Israel is just giving them time to reload. Israel just killed 1300 people for nothing, Hamas isnt gonna change, they have to be removed.

Im glad the killing is stopped though too.

If Hammas does continue with firing rockets and Isreal keeps countering, the people in Gaza may well get totally fed up with it and toss hammas out themselves.

Old Timer wrote:If Hammas does continue with firing rockets and Isreal keeps countering, the people in Gaza may well get totally fed up with it and toss hammas out themselves.

That would be the smartest thing the Palestinian people could do, and what most in the world are hoping for. Hamas will only bring violence and suffering to the Palestinian people as long as they are in control.

Grim17 wrote:

Old Timer wrote:If Hammas does continue with firing rockets and Isreal keeps countering, the people in Gaza may well get totally fed up with it and toss hammas out themselves.

That would be the smartest thing the Palestinian people could do, and what most in the world are hoping for. Hamas will only bring violence and suffering to the Palestinian people as long as they are in control.

Yep I got to agree, if the Palestinian people rose up and removed Hamas on their own, I think the international community would be much more willing and enthusiatic to help them.

But they are as sheep. They will never do anything on their own now will they. If they were it would have already been done. The way I see it their religion has such a hold on them that they do exactaly what they are told to do. no more and no less. Women and kids don't count. And each man that gets killed for their religion gets into heaven with 12 virgins so why do they care about the women here huh.

I'm afraid that when a group like Hamas gets into power, it won't be as easy as an election to get them out.

In order for the Palestinians to even consider another political entity to lead them to peace, the party or parties in question need to be devoid of any affiliation with Israel or the US. Abbas isn't an option since he would capitulate to Israel's expansionist endeavors. That is why the Palestinians chose Hamas because they would rather have a "terrorist" organization in charge rather than a spineless traitor for President. This is very interesting since the majority of Palestinians are secular and yet they voted for an Islamic group.

It appears they remain serious about the conflict and not desiring to yield any more land to Israel. They've already lost too much in the last six decades.