Israel continued on with Operation Cast Lead operations in Gaza despite a UN Security Council vote for a ceasefire resolution in the wee hours of Friday morning. The U.S. abstained from the vote pending results of Egyptian mediation.
During the night, heavy clashes took place between the IDF and Hamas as the
Air Force struck 50 terror targets including a Hamas naval base, an Islamic Jihad office, 5 rocket launching sites, over 15 weapons caches, 5 weapons factories and 5 groups of armed Hamas terrorists. A senior Hamas operative was killed in an IAF strike.
1 soldier was killed in Thursday night fighting, the 3rd fatality in 24 hours. 5 other IDF soldiers were wounded in heavy fighting after the UN ceasefire vote.
On Friday, over 25 Kassams, Grads and mortars hit the cities of Sderot, Ashkelon, Beersheba as well as Eshkol and Merhavim Regions leaving 1 injured.
3 Grads struck Ashdod during the daily 3-hour "Humanitarian" truce.
Israel's security cabinet voted on Friday to continue Gaza operations with Prime Minister Olmert citing Israel's "right to defend the security of its citizens."
The big question to be asked:
Will Israel escalate the ground war and eradicate Hamas' military and ability to terrorize Israel's southern towns and urban areas? Is
time running out for such an escalation?
