VZCZCXRO8797
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0147/01 0161142
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161142Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3869
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000147 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PTER MOPS PHUM PREF AFSN CASC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA UPDATE JANUARY 16, 2009, 1300 LOCAL 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  The IDF drew back from some parts of Gaza City 
on the morning of January 16 after heavy fighting and airstrikes 
killed a number of militants and civilians, primarily in the Tel 
al-Hawa and Zaytun neighborhoods.  An IAF airstrike in northern Gaza 
City killed Hamas leader Said Siam, along with family members and 
militants.  Airstrikes and skirmishes continued in southern Gaza, 
near Khan Yunis and along the Rafah border area.  A "humanitarian 
pause" took place 1000-1400.  Gaza-based medical sources reported a 
total of 1,105 killed and at least 4,850 wounded since IDF 
operations began.  Israel beefed up security in the West Bank and 
East Jerusalem January 16.  End summary. 
 
IDF Draws Back from Tel al-Hawa Neighborhood 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The IDF drew back from parts of Gaza City on the morning 
of January 16.  Tanks had advanced as far as Own al-Shawa Street in 
the western neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa on January 15 and were 
reported near Omar al-Mukhtar Street.  On the evening of January 15, 
IDF troops surrounded Abraj al-Hawa, a high-rise residential 
compound, ordering residents to stay in one room of each apartment 
as they searched the building.  IDF soldiers detained hundreds of 
male residents of Tel al-Hawa, and removed dozens for questioning as 
they withdrew from the neighborhood on January 16.  IDF soldiers 
clashed with militants and fired shells in the Zaytun neighborhood 
January 15-16.  ICRC staff in Gaza reported that members of the 
Dughmush clan refused to vacate ICRC's Gaza City office the morning 
of January 16 after breaking in late January 15. 
 
Hamas Leader Killed in Airstrike 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Hamas and the GOI confirmed that an IAF airstrike killed 
Said Siam, Hamas's "interior minister," along with Siam's son and 
brother and seven other militants, in the northern Gaza City 
neighborhood of Shaykh Radwan the evening of January 15.  Siam was 
Hamas's third-ranking Gaza-based leader, and was instrumental in the 
Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.  Hamas official 
Mohammad Nazal publicly stated that the incident proves that Hamas 
leaders are not hiding in bunkers and have not abandoned their 
people.  He said Siam's death will not weaken Hamas. 
 
Fighting Continues in Northern Gaza 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The IDF shelled several neighborhoods in Bayt Lahiya 
January 15-16, including homes of militants, and other locations in 
northern Gaza. 
 
Airstrikes and ground operations in Southern Gaza 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources and press reported that IAF airstrikes 
hit a car in Khan Yunis and destroyed smuggling tunnels along the 
Rafah border area January 16.  According to Palestinian medical 
sources, a 14-year old Palestinian was killed and another person 
injured by Israeli shelling at a market in al-Shabura refugee camp 
in Rafah.  A 22-year old Palestinian was seriously wounded by 
Israeli forces in the town of Abassan. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The mayor of al-Fakhari (southeast of Khan Yunis) told 
ConGen that 90 percent of al-Fakhari's approximately 10,000 
residents have fled, some to a school serving as a refuge north of 
al-Fakhari, others to a "European hospital" near al-Fakhari, and the 
remainder to Khan Yunis.  The mayor said 60 residents of al-Fakhari 
are holed up in a house without food and water, but are afraid to 
leave with Israeli tanks and Israeli snipers positioned on rooftops. 
 They have asked for ICRC assistance to evacuate. 
 
Rockets Continue 
---------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Press reported at least ten rockets fired into Israel from 
Gaza January 16 as of 1300 local, causing no casualties but damaging 
some property.  Press reported 26 rockets from Gaza landed in Israel 
January 15, one of which injured six people in Be'er Sheva, 
including one seriously. 
 
Casualties 
---------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Gaza-based medical sources told the press that 71 
Palestinians died January 15-16, and at least 300 were wounded.  The 
sources estimated that 1,105 Palestinians have been killed since IDF 
operations began (including at least 333 children, 93 women, 13 
paramedics, and three journalists), and that 4,850 people have 
required medical treatment for injuries (including at least 1,549 
children and 652 women). 
 
JERUSALEM 00000147  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
"Humanitarian Pause" 
-------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) A "humanitarian pause" occurred from 1000-1400 local 
January 16.  The UN and Gaza-based contacts said fighting and 
shelling decreased during the pause, and some Gazans were able to 
move throughout the city in search of supplies.  Press reported on 
January 16 that the UNRWA food supplies destroyed at the shelled 
Gaza City warehouse on January 15 were worth millions of U.S. 
dollars.  Fire trucks escorted by the IDF to the warehouse the 
evening of January 15 were too late to save these supplies. 
 
Political Developments 
---------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In a January 15 news conference, President Abbas called 
Israel's shelling of the UNRWA compound in Gaza City "outrageous." 
In a separate news conference, PM Fayyad urged the UNSC to adopt a 
binding resolution under Chapter 7 authority to enforce UNSCR 1860 
and emphasized the importance of the Egyptian initiative.  Fayyad 
called the Israeli operation in Gaza unjustifiable and a "grave 
escalation." 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuq said publicly that 
Hamas will not make concessions on its demands for a cease-fire.  He 
called on Abbas to stop negotiations with Israel, for the Arab 
League (AL) to sever ties with Israel, and for West Bankers to 
demonstrate in support of Hamas.  PA sources said Hamas 
representatives told Egypt that Hamas would accept a year-long 
renewable cease-fire and PA forces at the Rafah terminal if Israel 
withdraws its forces immediately and Hamas has a visible role at 
Rafah.  Hamas remains opposed to an international force in Gaza. 
The PA sources said Hamas is waiting for Israel to respond to its 
proposal via Egypt. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Qatar will host a summit January 15.  President Abbas 
will not attend the summit, but will attend a previously scheduled 
AL meeting in Kuwait January 19 which will discuss the situation in 
Gaza 
 
West Bank Reaction and Security 
------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Hamas called on West Bankers to demonstrate in support of 
Gazans January 16, calling it a "day of rage".  Israel imposed a 
full closure on the West Bank from the evening of January 15 through 
midnight January 17 and deployed thousands of border police around 
East Jerusalem January 16 to prevent possible incidents.  Israeli 
police closed the al-Aqsa compound to males under the age of 45. 
PASF were on high alert January 16 to prevent protesters from 
clashing with the IDF, but some incidents of stone throwing and 
Molotov cocktails were reported.  Settlers reportedly threw stones 
and empty bottles at Palestinians near Nablus, damaging several 
cars.  The IDF arrested seven Palestinians across the West Bank 
January 15-16. 
 
WALLES