Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
Search
Search:
Gaza City blacked out after rocket attacks
By DIAA HADID,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, November 14
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza City was dark Thursday night after officials shut down its only power plant as Israel cut off fuel and food shipments to the Palestinian territory because of renewed rocket attacks.
Israel canceled plans to ship in diesel fuel for the plant as well as 30 trucks full of humanitarian supplies after Gaza militants fired at least eight rockets and some mortar shells at Israel Thursday, the military said.
Renewed tensions in Gaza have raised the grim prospect of an end to a truce that has stopped most Israeli-Palestinian violence in and around the impoverished seaside territory for five months.
The truce began eroding last week when Israeli forces entered Gaza to try destroy what they said was a militants' tunnel. Eleven militants have been killed since and more than 130 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza at Israel. Israel has clamped a tight blockade on Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
"The rockets are a natural response to (Israel's) aggression," said Fawzi Barhoum of Hamas.
Government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel wants quiet.
"The current round of violence is the sole responsibility of Hamas, who through their aggressive acts have endangered the lives of too many Israeli and Palestinian civilians," he said.
The truce ended months of rocket barrages that disrupted life in southern Israel and brought Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in response. It is set to expire next month.
Both sides have said they are interested in maintaining calm, but developments on the ground appear to be going in the other direction.
Though no one was hurt in the rocket attacks Thursday, Israel scrapped plans to allow small amounts of fuel and supplies into Gaza.
Kamal Obeid, a Hamas official at of the power plant, said fuel was running out and the facility would be shut down completely later Thursday. The move cuts off electricity to much of the city of 300,000.
Israelis say the plant provides less than a quarter of Gaza's electricity, and most of the rest flows in unimpeded on power lines from Israel.
The tight quarantine is causing serious problems, according to U.N. officials. Richard Miron, spokesman for the U.N. Mideast peace mission.
"We renew our call for all sides to respect the calm," he said, charging that the blockade "hurts the people of Gaza and doesn't bring security to Israel."
Without more supplies, the U.N. will be forced to suspend food distribution to 750,000 needy Gazans beginning Saturday, said John Ging, head of Gaza operations for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
"The U.N. has been very clear that we should not hand the agenda over to those who fire rockets," Ging said. "They shouldn't dictate whether the crossings are open or not for the civilian population here."
Israel also continued to block diplomats and journalists from entering the territory, including a group of some 20 European diplomats. The military said crossings were closed to all but humanitarian operations.
Gaza has been sealed for eight days, the longest closure since Egyptian mediators hammered out a truce between Israel and Hamas in June.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: World
Explosion flattens Colorado restaurant; 6 injuredAP - 1 hour 16 minutes ago
Nicaraguan party vows to fight election resultsAP - 1 hour 19 minutes ago
Toxic trailers sold to public as scrapAP - 1 hour 23 minutes ago
Coal plant permit blockedAP - 1 hour 24 minutes ago
Obama sets strict standards for plum jobsAFP - 1 hour 25 minutes ago
Most Popular – World
Viewed
Ancient 4,300-year-old pyramid discovered in Egypt
Your favorite music = happy heart: study
Britney Spears's son hospitalized: statement
Oil price dives under 55 dollars per barrel in London
Earth would be heading to a freeze without CO2 emissions
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular