Israeli and Palestinian security officials have begun indirect contacts aimed at ending a major Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, an Israeli military official said yesterday, but the claim was denied by the Palestinians.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinians delivered messages through mediators, offering to try to prevent rocket fire on Israeli towns if Israel ends the attacks, which have left 68 Palestinians dead in six days.
PHOTO: AFP
However, Israel appears to be in no rush to end the operation. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Monday that "it will take time until we can be sure that we remove the threat of the ... rockets."
A senior Palestinian official said he was unaware of contacts with Israel, which refuses to negotiate directly with the Palestinian Authority. However, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Monday urged militants "not to give the occupation (Israel) any excuse against us," an apparent appeal to stop the rocket fire.
The report of cease-fire contacts came as Palestinians pushed for quick adoption of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to the Israeli offensive.
Arab nations that introduced the resolution said they wanted a vote yesterday.
The US ambassador to the UN, John Danforth, said another resolution is not the answer, and that the council "acts as the adversary of the Israelis and cheerleader to the Palestinians."
The Palestinian Authority has complained about what it considers the world's forgiving response to the unprecedented Gaza attacks.
Hundreds of troops are deployed at the northern end of the strip, controlling the towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, as well as the Jebaliya refugee camp, an area with tens of thousands of residents.
The army says the offensive was launched to push rocket launchers back, out of range of Israeli border towns and Jewish settlements. It was triggered by the killing of two Israeli children by Hamas rocket fire last week.
However, the Palestinians say the military has gone much further, destroying dozens of homes, uprooting trees and tearing up roads. Hospital officials say civilians account for nearly half the 68 killed and about 60 percent of the more than 400 wounded.
The US, the EU and a number of European countries have urged restraint by Israel and raised concerns about civilian casualties.
France condemned the Israeli operation on Monday, while Egypt's foreign minister urged Israel to stop its "policy of assassination and destruction," the semiofficial Middle East News Agency reported.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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