Israel Hamas War -- News Updated For December 29, 2008

Palestinians ran toward the home of a Hamas military leader after it was hit by an Israeli missile strike on Monday in Beit Lahia in Gaza. Thair al-Hasany/Getty Images

Gaza Toll Passes 350 in 3rd Day of Israeli Strikes
-- New York Times

GAZA — In a third straight day of deadly airstrikes against the emblems and institutions of Hamas on Monday, Israeli warplanes pounded targets in Gaza, including the Interior Ministry. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak described the bombings as “an all-out war on Hamas and its kind.”

The three-day death toll surpassed 350, some 60 of them civilians, according to United Nations officials. Palestinian hospital officials reported that some 1,500 people were wounded.

Israel says that its onslaught — its most ferocious against Palestinians in decades — is designed to prevent Palestinians from attacking towns in southern Israel with missiles. But Hamas fired more than 60 rockets into southern Israel on Monday, killing an Israeli Arab construction worker in Ashkelon and wounding several others.

A long-range rocket also struck the Israeli city of Ashdod some 18 miles from Gaza, where it hit a bus stop, killing a woman and injuring two other people. Thousands of Israelis huddled in shelters.

The airstrikes followed bombing late Sunday that hit the Islamic University in Gaza, a Hamas stronghold, and the Interior Ministry, according to Hamas. Footage recorded from Israeli warplanes showed bombs striking the entrances to tunnels allegedly used to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt.

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More News On The Israel Hamas War

Defiant Hamas Hits Israel With Rockets -- CBS News
Defiant Hamas Hits Israel With Dozens Of Rockets -- Yahoo News/AP
Israeli airstrikes kill dozens of Gaza civilians -- Yahoo News/AP
Israel expands Gaza campaign as militants fire rockets -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Israel At 'War to the Bitter End,' Strikes Key Hamas Sites -- FOX News
Gazans pay price of Israel's strikes against Hamas -- International Herald Tribune
Israel blasts Gaza in 'all-out war' on Hamas -- AFP
Israel says Gaza assault 'war to the bitter end' -- AP
Israel declares 'war to the bitter end' as death toll rises -- The Telegraph
Gaza residents fear Israeli tank assault is near -- L.A. Times
Barak: Israel in 'all-out war' with Hamas -- CNN
Israel vows war on Hamas in Gaza -- BBC
Israel vows to sweep Hamas from power -- Times Online
Analysis: Israel keeps objectives vague -- Yahoo News/AP
Israel has learned from its failure in Lebanon -- L.A. Times
Paper: Gaza Campaign Planned Months in Advance -- The Danger Room
The Context of the Gaza Military Operations -- Captain's Journal
Iranian Prostesters Call for "Israel to Be Wiped Off the Face of the Earth" -- Gateway Pundit
World rallies around Palestinians amid Gaza offensive -- CNN
Unprecedented Degree of Outrage: Arab World Erupts -- ABC News
Protesters Condemn Israeli Assault on Gaza in Arab, European Capitals -- FOX News
Israel's Anti-Rocket Defenses Still Taking Shape -- The Danger Room
Oil Prices Soar As Mideast Fighting Rages -- CBS News
Israel's Gaza War: The Economic Fallout -- Business Week

Commentary And Analysis

Real Clear World has a comprehensive list of commentary and analysis from numerous pundits. The link to these articles is HERE. The list of available articles is listed below.

Latest on Israel

* How Obama Can Promote Mid-East Peace - Washington Institute
* Why Israel Wants a Short War - Shmuel Rosner, New Republic
* What Was Hamas Thinking? - Shadi Hamid, Huffington Post
* The Juicebox Mafia on Gaza - Noah Pollak, Commentary Magazine
* Gaza Is About More than Zionism - Mick Hume, Times of London
* Palestinians Need Israel to Win - Michael Oren & Yossi Klein Halevi, WSJ
* Bush's Failed Gaza Legacy - Scott MacLeod, Time
* Killing a Two-State Solution - The Guardian
* Can Israel Win 'Soft Power' War in Gaza? - Gerald Steinberg, Jerusalem Post
* Beyond Bombs and Rockets in Gaza - Christian Science Monitor
* Talking Is the Only Solution in Gaza - The Guardian
* Lebanon's Quiet Truce - David Ignatius, Washington Post
* The Real Winner May Be Iran - Washington Post
* Israel's Strategic Blunder in Gaza - Tony Karon, The National
* A Grand Design for the Middle East - Yehezkel Dror, Jerusalem Post
* How the Gaza Offensive Came About - Barak Ravid, Haaretz
* Bush Is Winning the War on Terror - Nile Gardiner, The Telegraph
* Christmas on Planet Pope - Giles Fraser, The Guardian
* A Broader Middle East Strategy - Lajeunesse & Wunderle, Middle East Times
* O, Little Town of Bethlehem - Hela Crown-Tamir, Jerusalem Post
* A New Partner in Syria? - David Ignatius, Washington Post
* Repeating Failure in Gaza - Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post
* Who Has Obama's Ear on the Mideast? - Scott MacLeod, Time
* The Rebel Prince Who Hijacked Likud - Gershom Gorenberg, TAP
* Is the Peace Process Irreversible? - Daoud Kuttab, Jerusalem Post
* Turkey's Domino Theory - David Ignatius, Washington Post
* Israel Should Withdraw from Golan Talks - E. Navon, Jerusalem Post
* On My Expulsion from Israel - Richard Falk, The Guardian
* Moshe Feiglin & Israel's Failing Politics - Amotz Asa-El, Jerusalem Post
* Israel's Coming Test for Obama - Walter Rodgers, Christian Science Monitor
* Round and Round Again in the Middle East - Simon Tisdall, Guardian
* Untying Middle East Gordian Knot - Weaver, Couloumbis & Ahlstrom, RCW
* Saudi Plan: 100 Years of Dhimmitude? - Elihu Richter, Jerusalem Post
* Why Not to Engage Iran (Yet) - Geneive Abdo, Foreign Policy
* Fatah's Offensive Against Hamas - Jeffrey White, Washington Institute
* How Israel Defeated Terrorism in West Bank - Ehud Yaari, The Australian
* Financial Crisis and the Middle East - Martin Kramer, Jerusalem Post
* A Symbol of War Against Terrorism - Sadanand Dhume, Forbes
* Tony Blair: Wrong Man for the Middle East - Richard Beeston, Times
* Freeing Barghouti a Lesser of Two Evils - Joshua Gleis, Jerusalem Post
* Barack and Bibi Won't Mix - Jeff Barak, Jerusalem Post
* An F for Bush's Iran Policy - David Ignatius, Washington Post
* Israeli Hawks Ready to Fly on Iran - Paul Sheehan, Sydney Morning Herald
* A West Bank House in Dispute - Gershom Gorenberg, American Prospect
* A Disarmed Palestinian State? - Amitai Etzioni, Jerusalem Post
* Where's the Outrage over Gaza? - Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent