The massive bombing campaign launched by Israel last Saturday against the Gaza Strip is claiming hundreds of victims and causing the destruction of various crucial spots in a territory which has been under Israel siege throughout the whole year. The attack, which, according to Israeli government, won't be a short-term offensive, was launched against Hamas buildings, the cross border tunnels connecting Rafah and Egypt, the Islamic University and even against some mosques. Apart from Hamas militants, the attacks have killed civilian people including children.

According to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), almost 51 out of 300 dead people are civilians. However, Reuters AlertNet reports that Christopher Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA, admitted the estimate may well be "conservative and that it is certainly rising". According to Agence France Presse, Israeli air strikes killed al least 6 children last night. Amnesty International informs that Israel has killed 650 Palestinian people since the beginning of year, one third of which were civilians. Throughout the same period, Palestinian militants have been responsible of the death of 25 Israeli citizens, 16 of which were civilians.

The condition of hospitals where Palestinian doctors try to treat the 800 people wounded is chaotic. Israeli's ongoing siege of Gaza prevents medical equipment from reaching health-care centers. A Red Cross delegate in Gaza said yesterday that hospitals are overwhelmed by the scale of emergencies.

The Free Gaza Movement announced its intention to ship "three or four tones" of urgently needed medical supplies from Cyprus to Gaza. In a press release, the organization warns that according to medical sources most of the wounded are critical shrapnel wounds, with an approximate 80% who will not survive. The Free Gaza Movement and its ship Dignity has previously reached the shores of Gaza in three occasions so far without any real hindrance.

Attacks against selected targets

Whilst civil population is suffering the aggression, the Israeli army is deploying tanks at the border with Gaza. Military sources reported by the main international news agencies reveal that Israel is preparing for a ground incursion to reinvade Gaza, even though Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni assured that "for the time being" there are no plans to occupy it. Israel army's website informs that the military attack is aimed at destroying the so-called terrorist infrastructure. According to the website, so far the army has attacked 40 tunnels connecting the Palestinian town of Rafah with Egypt and struck approximately 210 sites utilized by Hamas.

Today Israeli air forces have continued the offensive. According to Haaretz newspaper, early this morning the Interior Ministry and the Islamic University have been attacked. Reuters reports that Israel has also bombed a mosque under the pretext that it was used for "terrorist purposes".

Further information:

• Al Jazeera: Gaza braces for all-out war
• Palestine Chronicle: Palestinians Storm Egypt Border in Attempt to Flee
• Le Monde: Israël décrète le secteur frontalier avec la bande de Gaza "zone militaire fermée"
• Washington Post: Food and Medical Supplies Grow Scarce in the Gaza Strip