Scoop News  
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0901/S00017/scoop-coverage-gaza-airstrikes.htm

Scoop Coverage: Gaza Airstrikes

Monday, 5 January 2009, 11:03 am
Article: Scoop Full Coverage

Scoop Coverage: Gaza Conflict

Gordon Campbell: On The Gaza Ceasefire, And Its Aftermath The carnage in Gaza has ended in a unilateral ceasefire. Israel has called a halt to its blitzkrieg because of the imminent Obama inauguration, and because the next military phase would have involved difficult street fighting in Gaza City, which could well have blunted the political advantage that the ruling Kadima Party hope to gain from its killing spree in Gaza, during the February 10 Israeli elections. More >>

More Comment:

Scoop Satire: My Side In The Gaza Conflict Is Entirely Right

When people are being killed and dying is not the time to apportion blame. But since the deal between Israel and the US has made peace between Israel and Hamas, I say, how about now? Unlike some, I look forward to responsiblity sheeting home to the most guilty, because throughout the conflict my side has been entirely in the right. More >>

Cease Fire:


NZ Reaction:


Earlier:

Gaza: Peace Prayer Vigil Held - Success?

[Images Updated] About 80 people attended the Interfaith Prayer Vigil held at St Andrew’s on the Terrace last night which was hosted by the Minister, Dr. Margaret Mayman and supported by the Peace Foundation and the United Nations Association of NZ. More >>

ALSO:

War Crimes: Eyewitness Account Of Israeli Shelling On UN

At about 10 a.m. local, the first Israeli shell, from a tank or artillery, crashed into the United Nations main centre in Gaza City today, an hour after 700 Palestinians fleeing intense fighting crowded into the compound and UN officials informed Israeli ... More >>

ALSO:

Inside Gaza: At least if I die, I will die with a little hope

Mohammed Ali: Oxfam’s Advocacy and Media Researcher, reports on the Israeli military operation from his home in Gaza city . This morning I heard people chanting outside, I wondered what it was, and then, the lights came on – the electricity had come back on, hurrah! I immediately turned on the television, charged my phone, checked emails. For a moment, I felt somewhat liberated. These things that we often take for granted have become so precious of late. More >>

ALSO:

Two Sides to a Story? Supporters Of Israel Rally At Parliament

Over one hundred people rallied on the steps of Parliament today promoting the slogan “Palestinians yes, Hamas no”. Demonstrators waved Israeli flags and brandished posters calling for condemnation of Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israeli civilians. More >>

Foreign Affairs: Israeli Missiles Destroy Gaza Health Care Centre

The Health Care Centre providing desperately needed primary health care and part of a programme funded by Christian World Service was destroyed by Israeli missile fire over the weekend. More >>

ALSO:

Gaza: Spirit Of Humanity Sets Sail For Gaza

Larnaca: At 10:30 this morning, under bright blue Mediterranean skies, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY sailed from the port of Larnaca. Undeterred by Israeli threats of interception at sea, 21 passengers and crew waved to friends and press on shore, committed to ... More >>

ALSO:

A baby at today's die-in for Palestine in Wellington's Civic Square - Image George Mclellan

Gordon Campbell: National Tough Nut's Timid Gaza Response

As the slaughter in Gaza continues, the timidity of the New Zealand reaction to the 17 day Israeli offensive becomes even more ...well, offensive. To date, Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s response has had two main themes (a) New Zealand is not taking sides in the conflict, and (b) since we’re not a major player in the Middle East no one would listen to us anyway. The comparative death toll exposes the moral vacuousness of the government’s approach. More >> (Right -A baby at today's Die-in for Palestine in Wellington's Civic Square.)

ALSO:

Earlier:

Uri Avnery Column: How Many Divisions?

NEARLY SEVENTY YEARS ago, in the course of World War II, a heinous crime was committed in the city of Leningrad. For more than a thousand days, a gang of extremists called “the Red Army” held the millions of the town’s inhabitants hostage and provoked ... More >>

Paul Buchanan: Who Benefits From The Gaza Conflict?

The human misery caused by the resumption of hostilities in Gaza has prompted much indignation and finger pointing as to who is to blame... Herein is a brief synopsis on those who have a vested interest in the conflict. More >>

ALSO:

Wellington Palestine Group: Statement on Rabin Memorial Protest


The Wellington Palestine Group states that it was collectively responsible for the action which Gerard Burns undertook at the Yitzak Rabin Memorial in Wellington on Tuesday. Gerard Burns courageously carried out the symbolic act which was prepared and planned by the Group.
Wellington Palestine Group spokesperson Omar Khamoun says “we chose this memorial in Wellington as the object of our protest to highlight the long trajectory of Palestinian dispossession and suffering, which former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was party to”. More >>

Scoop Flashback:

Also:

TV3 News Video:

Security Council Calls For Ceasefire


Gaza: Security Council Overwhelmingly Calls For Immediate Ceasefire
8 January 2009 – The United Nations Security Council tonight overwhelmingly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza leading to a full Israeli withdrawal, the unimpeded provision throughout Gaza of food, fuel and medical treatment, and intensified international arrangements to prevent arms and ammunition smuggling.
Fourteen of the Council’s 15 members voted in favour, with only the United States abstaining. More >>

ALSO:

Comment:

Earlier:


UN: Daily Gaza Truce "Good First Step"

The daily three-hour pause that Israel began today on the 12th day of its Gaza offensive against Hamas was a good first step but totally insufficient for the United Nations to aid the 1.5 million civilians living in “increasingly appalling” conditions amid credible reports of 680 people killed so far and over 3,000 wounded, senior UN officials warned. More >>

ALSO:

Comment:

Foreign Affairs: McCully Concerned By Mounting Gaza Crisis

Attacks on United Nations facilities, including schools, in the Gaza Strip are of grave concern and underline the need for both sides of the conflict to agree to an immediate ceasefire, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said today. More >>

ALSO:

Gaza: Dozens Killed In Israeli Strikes On UN School

More than 30 people have been killed in two separate Israeli strikes on clearly-marked United Nations schools where civilians were seeking refuge from the ongoing violence in Gaza, an official with the world body said today. More >>

1000+ Protest Gaza Assault In Wellington

A protest organized by the Wellington Palestine Group against the Israeli assault on Gaza drew a crowd of more than 1000 people on an otherwise very quiet day in the capital.

The group started its protest outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Panama Street and then moved down to the Yitzhak Rabin peace memorial adjacent to the Library in Civic Square. More >>
See also, more Scoop Gaza protest coverage... Wellington Palestine Protest Begins, Photos from Auckland Palestine protest (3/1/09) & Paris: French protest Israeli assault

Middle East: Civilians Must Be Permitted To Leave Gaza At Will
The top United Nations refugee official has stressed that civilians wishing to leave Gaza, where an Israeli military operation in response to Hamas rocket attacks has entered its 11th day, must be allowed to do so. More >>

Image: International Solidarity Movement

Gordon Campbell: Israel’s Offensive In Gaza

Collective punishment is a war crime under section 33 of the Geneva Convention, and New Zealand is one of the 194 signatory countries to that Convention. Not that this has meant very much to us in recent weeks and months, as it applies to Israel’s actions in the Middle East. We should care. Because according to Richard Falk, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, the Israeli military offensive against Gaza does amount to ‘severe and massive violations’ of the Geneva Conventions. More >>