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
Edition:
U.S.
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Investing Simplified
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
Dividends
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Africa
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
Nicholas Wapshott
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Zachary Karabell
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Reihan Salam
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (1)
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our best photos from the past week. Slideshow
Escalating Gaza conflict
Images of October
Download our Wider Image iPad app
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Israeli air strike kills 11 civilians in Gaza: Hamas
|
3:21pm EST
Obama, in Asia, says Myanmar trip to encourage democracy
1:58pm EST
Israel returns fire on Syrian Golan, may have caused deaths
5:21am EST
Denver mailman mistakes corpse for Halloween decoration
09 Nov 2012
Exclusive: Video shows Nigerian troops shooting captives
1:45pm EST
Discussed
163
Top Hamas commander killed in Israeli airstrike
150
Egypt PM to visit Gaza in support of Hamas against Israel
149
Israel hammers Hamas in Gaza offensive
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Gaza conflict
Conflict escalates in Gaza and Israel in the aftermath of an Israeli air strike which killed the Hamas military chief. Slideshow
Facing eviction
Families in Spain face the threat of eviction after failing to pay their mortgages. Slideshow
Sponsored Links
Analysis: Hamas finds cause to smile under Israeli assault
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
WRAPUP 8-Israeli air strike kills 11 civilians in Gaza -Hamas
1:09pm EST
Obama: "Preferable" to avoid Israeli ground invasion of Gaza
11:11am EST
Some Gaza rockets stripped of explosives to fly further-Israelis
11:11am EST
WRAPUP 2-Israel, Gaza fighting rages on as Egypt seeks truce
Sat, Nov 17 2012
Israel hits Hamas buildings, shoots down Tel Aviv-bound rocket
Sat, Nov 17 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Escalating Gaza conflict
Bono says U.S. aid cuts could lead to thousands of AIDS deaths
Related Topics
World »
Israel »
Middle East Turmoil »
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (C) and Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Kandil (2nd L) touch the body of a Palestinian boy during a visit to a hospital in Gaza City November 16, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Mahmud Hams/Pool
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA |
Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:31pm EST
GAZA (Reuters) - As Israel bombed Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip for a fifth day, Ali Al-Ahmed took to the streets of Gaza city in his pyjamas on Sunday to buy eggs and chocolate for his three children.
"Terrifying, that's how it feels," he said.
"But they are also terrorized on the other side of the border," he added approvingly. "To be honest, I thought Hamas had forgotten about fighting Israel. I was wrong."
That will be music to the ears of the Islamist movement that rules the blockaded sliver of land where 1.7 million people have been cooped up since 2007 when the Hamas government, hostile to Israel, took charge.
In an earlier clash, the three-week winter war of 2008-2009, many Palestinian rivals blamed Hamas's rocket-firing bravado for bringing Israel's military might down on Gaza.
That war ended with over 1,400 Palestinians in early graves and a territory scarred by bombing, shelling and invasion. Israel lost 13 lives in the lopsided battle, and Hamas licked its wounds.
This time is different. The Arab Spring has changed the Middle East, and Hamas has more powerful weapons.
Many Facebook pages express undisguised glee at Israelis scuttling for cover, and two singers from the West Bank have made a YouTube hit, "Strike Tel Aviv", praising Hamas and others for firing rockets that can threaten Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for the first time.
Hamas also scored a diplomatic hit, with solidarity visits last week by the foreign ministers of Egypt and Tunisia while its positions were under attack.
Both countries were ruled by Western-backed autocrats last time Gaza was invaded, but popular uprisings have since swept them aside, and Islamists now dominate in Cairo and Tunis, representing masses who back their fellow Sunni Islamists, Hamas.
HATS OFF
"Today we raise our hats to Hamas," said Talal Okal, a Gaza political analyst normally critical of the movement. "They look organised, aware of what they're doing and ready to pay the price to achieve their agenda. Ordinary people can only admire them today."
"Israel is no longer able to predict what Arab leaders might do if a ground offensive takes place, certainly not what Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi could do under pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist and secular parties.
"Maybe Israel does not care much, but its American and European allies do. They care for their own interests in the Middle East, the new Middle East," Okal said.
Though the long-range rockets fired at Tel Aviv have not caused any casualties or damage - thanks largely to Israel's Iron Dome interceptor shield - Hamas is content to see Israelis running for cover in a city that was once immune to such attack.
They claim to have shot down an Israeli F-16 fighter, and mock Israel's "Paper Dome" as a failure. Both claims are outlandish, but they go down well with those eager to believe them.
This is still asymmetric warfare with asymmetric rules and results. Since it erupted last Wednesday, three Israelis have been killed, but 65 Palestinians are dead, most of them civilians. Yet the Islamists believe they are winning an important round in the battle for world public opinion.
Israel says its goal is to defang the militants by destroying their rocket stockpile. It accuses Hamas of hiding behind civilians, implanting weapons in schools and apartment blocks.
ABBAS IN SHADE
Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - a figure of ridicule for Hamas because he recognizes Israel and has renounced violence - has called its leaders to express his solidarity and readiness to do his utmost to bring an end to Israeli military action.
Abbas is the leader of the Palestinian national movement and, for now, the embodiment of its aspirations of statehood. But he is put squarely in the shade by the Hamas spectacular in Gaza.
Shops and schools remain closed, but the few who are on the streets celebrate every time they hear the distinctive roar of the long-range rockets that could be heading to Tel Aviv.
"If we endured 22 days in the past war, we are today more ready to keep up for longer, and their soldiers will not," said Abu Ubaida, spokesman of the Hamas armed wing Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades.
"This round of confrontation will not be the last against the Zionist enemy," he said. Israeli claims to have badly damaged the military capability of the Qassam Brigades were "lies, propaganda and have no grain of truth".
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the movement's members were "proud of our resistance and high-profile capability and a performance which surprised the enemy and struck deep".
Still ahead, however, is the threat of another Israeli invasion, as in early January 2009. Hamas has no armor, no tanks. But it does now have some modern anti-tank missiles, and Hamas says it will surprise the Israeli army if it enters.
And even if the ground invasion comes, Palestinians sense that it will achieve nothing lasting for the Israelis.
"Hundreds of civilians may be killed if the Israelis invade," says Ali Al-Ahmed. "But once they leave, rockets will follow them home, so they would fail."
(Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Will Waterman)
World
Israel
Middle East Turmoil
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (1)
jrpardinas wrote:
Edition:
U.S.
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.