This as Israel's Operation Pillar of Cloud (aka Cloud Column) entered its eighths day and following Hamas’ late
Tuesday announcement that ceasefire was off the table until Israel agrees on Hamas’ conditions, Palestinians
and Israelis continued exchanging missiles and raids. Hamas government's Emergency and Ambulances' Committee announced that
one Palestinian was killed in an Israeli raid launched Wednesday morning on the
Jibaliya
refugee camp located at the northern end of the Gaza Strip. Shortly after
In this regard, Palestine’s
representative at the U.N. said that the Israeli onslaught on Gaza has already
claimed the lives of 140 people and injured over 950.
At least 25 were wounded, 5 of those critically an Israeli spokesman said after an explosion targeted a bus in Tel Aviv , in what was described by Israeli police as a "terrorist attack."
Photos on Israeli TV showed a
smoke-filled bus with broken windows in central Tel Aviv. Some sources said that the site of the explosion falls next to the Israeli Defense Ministry. Other sources also said that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for bombing.
For its part, Hamas praised what it described as a ‘martyr operation’ in Tel Aviv, stressing that it is a
natural reaction to the massacre of all the members of al-Dalou family.
Exclusive sources told LBCI that conflicting reports emerged on the planting of the explosion on the bus whereby some said that it was unclear whether it was a Palestinian male or female who had entered the bus, leaving a suspicious briefcase believed to have been the source of the explosion.
Positions
In various Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon,
refugees celebrated the Tel Aviv explosion, launching fireworks and giving out
sweet.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in reaction to the bus explosion in Tel Avis said that Israel has the right to "defend itself."
Russia
condemned the “criminal act” which targeted Tel Aviv this morning.
This as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Egypt on Wednesday from her Israel leg, an airport official said, where she is expected to hold talks with Egypt's president about a truce in Gaza. She was later followed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
From Cairo the UN secretary general said that Tel
Aviv's bus bomb underscored the need for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, saying that "we all know there are many details to work out."
"I am particularly concerned about the spiral of violence at the time of intense efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel," Ban said.
Speaking after a meeting with Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, whose country is trying to forge a truce, he said: "We all know there are many details to work out. But while that happens civilians continue to die."
Clinton had met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Tuesday night, she pledged to work for a truce "in the days ahead" as negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel drag on.
Clinton, who broke off from an Asian tour
with President Barack Obama and assured Netanyahu of "rock-solid"
U.S. support for Israel's security, spoke of seeking a "durable
outcome" and of Egypt's "responsibility" for promoting peace.
She repeated international calls for the
kind of lasting, negotiated, comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian settlement that
has eluded the two peoples for decades - something neither of the two warring
parties seems seriously to be anticipating.
"In the days ahead, the United States
will work with our partners here in Israel and across the region toward an
outcome that bolsters security for the people of Israel, improves conditions
for the people of Gaza and moves toward a comprehensive peace for all people of
the region," Clinton said.
"It is essential to de-escalate the
situation in Gaza. The rocket attacks from terrorist organizations inside Gaza
on Israeli cities and towns must end and a broader calm restored," she
said.
Arab
League Chief Nabil al-Arabi from Cairo made statements saying that Gaza is occupied and its people have
the right to resist occupation.
Al-Arabi stressed that the U.N. Security Council should realize
that Israel is obstructing the peace process in the region.
Also on Wednesday, Pope Benedict urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders
to make "courageous decisions" to end the Gaza conflict, saying it
risked spilling over into the rest of the Middle East.
He told pilgrims and tourists at his weekly general audience in St
Peter's Square that he backed efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.
"I appeal to the authorities on both sides to take courageous decisions
in favour of peace and bring an end to a conflict with negative
repercussions on the entire Middle East, which is already tormented by
too many conflicts and so in need of peace and reconciliation," the
pontiff said.
Earlier reactions prior to the explosion came as follows:
From Ramallah, Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas hoped that a truce will be reached in Gaza before leaving the region during his meeting with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb erekat told journalists, that Abbas had said to Clinton that the way to reach truce would be through Egypt “sparing no effort in this regard.”
Netanyahu, who faces an election
in two months said that he is, for now, favored to win. He reportedly told Clinton he wanted a
"long-term" solution. Failing that, Netanyahu made clear, he stood
ready to step up the military campaign to silence Hamas' rockets.
Hamas for its part is exploring the
opportunities that last year's Arab Spring has given it to enjoy favor from the
new Islamist governments of states once ruled by U.S. protégés, and from Sunni
Gulf powers keen to woo it away from Shi'ite Iran. It has used longer-range missiles,
some sent by Tehran, and hopes to eclipse Western-backed Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas has spoken of an easing of Israel's
blockade on the 40-km (25-mile) slice of Mediterranean coast that is home to
1.7 million people. It may count on some sympathy from Mursi, though Egypt's
first freely elected leader, whose Muslim Brotherhood inspired Hamas' founders,
has been careful to stick by the 1979 peace deal with Israel struck by Cairo's
former military rulers.
Netanyahu, who has appeared in no immediate
rush to repeat the invasion of winter 2008-09 in which over 1,400 Palestinians
died, said: "If there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution
to this problem with diplomatic means, we prefer that.
"But if not, I'm sure you understand that Israel will have to take
whatever action is necessary to defend its people."
On another note, Palestinian young men and women demonstrated against the visit of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to Ramallah in protest of the US support to Israel. Protesters raised photos of Palestinian children who were killed by Israeli rockets while others burned the US flag.
For his part, Iran's Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani urged Arab states on Wednesday
to follow Iran's example of providing military assistance to the
Palestinians.
"We are honored that our help has material and military aspects and
these Arab countries that sit and hold meetings should know that the
nation of Palestine does not need words or meetings," Fars news agency
reported Larijani as saying.
"Our message is that if Arab countries want to help the nation of Palestine they should give military assistance."
In turn, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned Iran and held it responsible for conflicts sweeping through the Middle East mainly in Gaza. “Iranian-made long-range weapons are arriving to the Strip,” he said.
Also, French President Francois Hollande called for an immediate ceasefire followed by a truce in the Middle East.
REUTERS/LBCI