Official Statement: Second Stage of Operation Cast Lead Begins

IDF Spokesperson

January 3rd, 2009

Second Stage of Operation Cast Lead Begins

A short while ago IDF forces began to implement the second stage of Operation Cast Lead. Land forces have begun to maneuver within the Gaza Strip.

The objective of this stage is to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of the Hamas in the area of operation, while taking control of some of rocket launching area used by the Hamas, in order to greatly reduce the quantity of rockets fired at Israel and Israeli civilians.

The IDF Spokesperson emphasizes that this stage of the operation will further the goals of Operation Cast Lead as communicated till now: To strike a direct and hard blow against the Hamas while increasing the deterrent
strength of the IDF, in order to bring about an improved and more stable security situation for residents of Southern Israel over the long term.

Large numbers of forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence with the support of the Israel Air Force, Israel navy, Israel Security Agency and other security agencies.

The operation is in accord with the decisions of the Security Cabinet. This stage of the operation is a part of the IDF's overall operational plan, and will continue on the basis of ongoing situational assessments by the IDF General Staff.

The forces participating in the operation have been highly trained and were prepared for the mission over the long period that the operation was planned. The Commander of the operation is Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, GOC Southern Command.

The IDF and the Homefront Command have taken the necessary steps to protect the civilian population. All residents of Southern Israel are requested to follow the directives of the Homefront command as communicated via the
media.

The IDF Spokesperson wishes to reiterate that the residents of Gaza are not the target of the operation. Those who use civilians, the elderly, women and children as "human shields" are responsible for any and all injury to the
civilian population. Anyone who hides a terrorist or weapons in his house is considered a terrorist.

On the basis of a situation analysis, The IDF is taking steps to raise the level of alert for its forces in other areas of the country.

GROUND INCURSION HAS BEGUN!!

At 20:31 Saturday evening, January 3, 2009, IDF forces numbering some 10,000 men began the ground incursion designed to root out the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Please stay tuned to the following links for credible updates:

IMRA = http://www.imra.org.il

Jerusalem Post = http://www.jpost.co.com

Israel National News = http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

and

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Isr-info/

The following are the Home Front Command instructions for Saturday, January 3, 2009:

Residents of towns adjacent to the frontier, including the city of Sderot, are instructed to remain continually indoors, within immediate reach of protected spaces. Public gatherings and assembly in these population centers are prohibited. Work will take place at essential facilities and plants. Work will also be permitted at workplaces equipped with protected spaces sufficient for the entire workforce. Shopping centers equipped with protected spaces are permitted to open.

Residents of towns located within the 10 km. radius are instructed to remain in places that allow access to protected spaces within 15 seconds. Public gatherings and assembly in these population centers are prohibited. Work will take place at essential facilities and plants. Work will also be permitted at workplaces equipped with protected spaces sufficient for the entire workforce. Shopping centers equipped with protected spaces are permitted to open.

Residents of towns located within 10 to 20 km. radius, including Ashkelon, Netivot and the surrounding areas, are instructed to take cover in protected spaces within 30 seconds of hearing an alert siren or a blast. Public gatherings and assembly with up to 100 participants in these population centers are permitted, provided they take place indoors and under hardened overhead cover only. Work will take place at essential facilities and plants. Work will also be permitted at workplaces equipped with protected spaces sufficient for the entire workforce. Shopping centers equipped with protected spaces are permitted to open.

Residents of towns located within 20 to 30 km. radius, including Ashdod, Kiryat-Gat, Kiryat-Malachi, Ofakim, Rahat and the surrounding areas, are instructed to take cover in protected spaces within 45 seconds. Public gatherings and assembly with up to 300 participants in these population centers are permitted, provided they take place indoors and under hardened overhead cover only. Work will be permitted at workplaces equipped with protected spaces sufficient for the entire workforce. Shopping centers equipped with protected spaces are permitted to open.

Residents of towns located within 30 to 40 km. radius, including Beer-Sheba, Yavneh and Gadera, are instructed to take cover in protected spaces within 60 seconds of hearing an alert siren or a blast. Public gatherings and assembly with up to 300 participants in these population centers are permitted, provided they take place indoors and under hardened overhead cover only. Work will be permitted at workplaces equipped with protected spaces sufficient for the entire workforce. Shopping centers equipped with protected spaces are permitted to open.

General information for the residents of said areas:

The Home Front Command has instructed the local authorities to open all public bomb shelters and to keep them open. Shelters must be accessed only if the entry can be made within the time intervals mentioned above.

At workplaces, protected areas must be clearly marked and practice drills for entering them must be performed. In all locations except in the immediate vicinity of the frontier, remain in the protected areas for 5 minutes only, unless otherwise instructed.

Refrain from gathering at rocket blast sites. It is important to stay clear of unidentified objects or rockets lying on the ground. In such cases, please inform the police.

Strict compliance with the instructions and sheltering in the protected areas – save lives.

Instructions for the correct behavior in emergency are broadcast from the Home Front Command television studio every evening at 22:00 hours on channel 33, in Hebrew and other languages.

For additional information, please call the Home Front Command Information Center at 1207.

IDF Spokesperson: Summary of Today's Events 1/3/09

IDF Spokesperson

January 3rd, 2009

Summary of Today's Events

Since the early morning hours the IDF has attacked over 40 targets in the Gaza Strip, all integral parts of the Hamas terror organization's infrastructure, including a training camp, weaponry storage facility, smuggling tunnel, an armed launcher and launching bases.

Also since the morning, terror groups have launched over 14 Qassam rockets and Grad missiles towards Israel. One Grad missile hit an apartment building in the city of Ashdod, wounding two Israelis. A short time after the attack
IAF aircraft identified and destroyed the launchers used in the attack.

IAF aircraft struck the vehicle transporting senior Hamas commander Mohammed Ma'aruf and an additional Hamas operative in Khan Younis early Saturday afternoon. Ma'aruf was part of Hamas' military wing and served as an officer
in the terror organization's ground forces.

The IDF will continue operating against the Hamas terror organization and its infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

IDF Spokesperson: Summary of Overnight Events 1/3/09

IDF Spokesperson

January 3rd, 2009

Summary of Overnight Events

During the night, the IAF attacked a vehicle in which Mamduq Jammal was driving. Jammal is a Hamas battalion commander who is also involved in rocket launching and is in charge of the rocket launching squads in the Gaza
City area.

Other Hamas terrorist targets attacked by IAF aircraft during the night:

• A college building in El-Atatra used by Hamas for terrorist purposes. The college was a base for firing rockets at Israeli communities and was also used as a place of hiding and assembly by Hamas operatives.

• The house of Hamas terror operative Ismail Renam in Bet-Lehiya, northern Gaza Strip, which functioned as a weaponry storage, specifically for rocket launching equipment. Renam has a central role in the launching of Grad type rockets against Israel.

• The house of Azadin Hadad, a Hamas terror operative in Gaza City, that was used to orchestrate terror activity and as a meeting place for terror operatives. Hadad is the head of the Hamas military group in Eastern Gaza city.

• A vehicle from which a Hamas operative loaded weapons into a storage place in Nuseirat.

The Israeli Navy also took part in the attacks, targeting a number of Hamas outposts, training camps and rocket launching sites.

Overall, more than 25 Hamas and other terrorist sites were attacked since yesterday evening. The forces reported accurate hits. All of the forces returned to their bases safely.

The IDF will continue to persistently strike any site used in Hamas' terrorist effort and will not cease acting against all terror organizations and those who actively support them.

January 2, 2009

REPRESENTATIVE HASNER’S STATEMENT ON SPONSORSHIP OF BI-PARTISAN RESOLUTION
EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL

-Florida will be First State in Nation to Express Support for Israel’s Right to Self-Defense-

TALLAHASSEE, FL – House Majority Leader Adam Hasner (R-Delray Beach) today announced his sponsorship of a bi-partisan resolution expressing solidarity with the people of Israel and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense from attacks by Hamas. Leader Hasner will be filing the resolution to be heard at the start of the Special Session scheduled to begin on Monday, January 5, 2009. Florida State Senator Ted Deutch (D-Boca Raton) will be filing a similar resolution in the Florida Senate.

In conjunction with the filing of the House resolution, Hasner released the following statement:

“Since Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, the thousands of rockets and mortars launched against innocent Israeli civilian targets by the Iranian-sponsored Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations demonstrate in deed their declared intention of destroying the State of Israel.

“In a fully justified defense of its citizens and its democracy, Israel's government has been forced to respond to the terrorist attacks emanating from Gaza in order to change the current realities. In doing so, Israel has acted firmly against the terrorists' strongholds while exerting extreme effort to minimize suffering and casualty of innocent Palestinians, who are cynically being used as human shields.

“As an American and as a Jew, and with the support of those in the Florida House of Representatives from many religions, races, and regions across this great state, I am proud to lead the bipartisan effort in the Florida House of Representatives to express our firm solidarity with the people of Israel and support the government of Israel's right to protect and defend themselves against terrorism and destruction from these ongoing attacks.

“And as we begin the New Year, we pray for a peaceful end to these hostilities. May God Bless Israel, America's democratic ally in the Middle East.”

First elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2002, Hasner has been a consistent leader on Israel-related issues. In addition to sponsoring Florida’s first-in-the-nation Iran Divestment legislation, which prohibits the investment of public funds in companies doing business in Iran, Hasner has also sponsored legislation that prohibits life insurance companies doing business in Florida from denying coverage to individuals who travel to Israel.

Gaza Violence: Radio Address by President Bush

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 2, 2009

RADIO ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Over the past week, I have been monitoring the situation in the Middle East closely with the members of my national security team. Secretary Rice is actively engaged in diplomacy. And I've been in contact with leaders throughout the region -- including the King of Saudi Arabia, the King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, the President and Prime Minister of the Palestinian Territories, and the Prime Minister of Israel.

This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas -- a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel's destruction. Eighteen months ago, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup, and since then has imported thousands of guns and rockets and mortars. Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but Hamas routinely violated that ceasefire by launching rockets into Israel. On December 19th, Hamas announced an end to the ceasefire and soon unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortars that deliberately targeted innocent Israelis -- an act of terror that is opposed by the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people, President Abbas.

In response to these attacks on their people, the leaders of Israel have launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza. As a part of their strategy, Hamas terrorists often hide within the civilian population, which puts innocent Palestinians at risk. Regrettably, Palestinian civilians have been killed in recent days.

The United States is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation facing the Palestinian people. Since Hamas's violent takeover in the summer of 2007, living conditions have worsened for Palestinians in Gaza. By spending its resources on rocket launchers instead of roads and schools, Hamas has demonstrated that it has no intention of serving the Palestinian people. America has helped by providing tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid, and this week we contributed an additional $85 million through the United Nations. We have consistently called on all in the region to ensure that assistance reaches those in need. And as I told President Mubarak, America appreciates the role Egypt has played in facilitating the delivery of relief supplies in recent days.

In addition to reducing humanitarian suffering, all nations must work toward a lasting end to the violence in the Holy Land, and a return to the path of peace. The United States is leading diplomatic efforts to achieve a meaningful ceasefire that is fully respected. Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice -- there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end. I urge all parties to pressure Hamas to turn away from terror, and to support legitimate Palestinian leaders working for peace.

In the days ahead, the United States will stay closely engaged with our partners in the region, in Europe, and in the international community. My Administration will continue to keep the President-elect and his team informed. And America's objectives in the Middle East will remain clear: We seek security and peace for our allies, the free people of Israel. For the Palestinian people, we seek a peaceful and democratic Palestinian state that serves its citizens and respects its neighbors. For all in the region, we seek an end to terror. And we seek an enduring peace based on justice, dignity, and human rights for every person in every nation of the Middle East.

Thank you for listening.