A fourth day of aerial bombardment by Israeli aircraft is now being backed by ground forces making their deepest incursion into Gaza since 2005.

The chief negotiator for the Palestinians says any hope for the peace talks now lies buried in the rubble of Gaza.

More than 80 people - women and children among them - have been killed over the past four days, and international condemnation remains muted.

Update: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has finally called the Israeli attacks on occupied Gaza an “excessive” use of force and called for a cessation as the death toll rises to over 100 in 5 days. Addressing an emergency session of the security council today, Ban said: “While recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself, I condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children … I call on Israel to cease such attacks”. Since Israel is deliberately blocking the transfer of medical aid into the Gaza Strip as a form of collective punishment, Egypt has reportedly reopened the Rafah border crossing to allow for medical treatment of injured Palestinians.

There is currently no sign that Israel is willing to cease its Palestinian Holocaust. Members of the UN security council will not pass a resolution condemning the military might of the Israeli army being used against civilians unless the resolution also equally condemns unguided homemade rockets fired from Gaza which have only killed one person in 9 months. Language suggesting Israel is guilty of terrorism has also been dropped. So far, the only denunciation is from Ban Ki-moon. His statement will either be completely ignored, or it will spark more cries from Israel that the UN is anti-Semitic. I hope for the latter because it’s the only way Israel’s war against Gaza civilians will get any American media coverage.

read more…