VZCZCXRO6502
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0130/01 0141215
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141215Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3842
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000130 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PTER MOPS PHUM PREF IS
SUBJECT: GAZA UPDATE JANUARY 14, 2009, 1300 LOCAL 
 
REF:  (A) JERUSALEM 111; (B) JERUSALEM 103 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Israeli military operations continued January 
13-14, with heavy fighting occurring in and around Gaza City. 
Airstrikes targeted the northern Gaza Strip and the Rafah border 
area.  Gaza-based medical sources reported as many as 976 
Palestinians dead and 4,418 wounded since hostilities began.  A 
"humanitarian pause" is scheduled from 1300-1600 local.  Two 
Palestinians were shot and killed in the West Bank.  End summary. 
 
IDF Operations Encircle Gaza City 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources, local press, and the UN reported that 
the IDF continued operations on the outskirts of Gaza City January 
13-14, as heavy fighting in northern, southern, and eastern 
neighborhoods killed at least ten militants and six unidentified 
Palestinians, and injured dozens of others.  Having advanced several 
hundred meters into the neighborhoods of Tel al-Hawa and Tel 
al-Islam (southwestern Gaza City) IDF troops withdrew after heavy 
fighting on the afternoon of January 13, leaving behind substantial 
damage to commercial and residential buildings.  Fighting continued 
January 14 in Zaytun (southern Gaza City), Tuffah (eastern Gaza 
City), and Twam, Shaykh Radwan, and Karama (northern Gaza City). 
IDF troops ransacked houses and fired on locals, according to 
Gaza-based press.  Israeli press reported that the Paratroopers 
Brigade Battalion 890 was operating in northern Gaza City. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources and press reported that the IAF struck 
several targets in Gaza City January 14, including Palestine Square 
(the main square in the city center) and al-Mukhtar Street.  Targets 
included weapons storage facilities and rocket launching areas. 
Palestinians fleeing conflict areas did not know which neighborhoods 
of Gaza City would be safe, making it difficult for them to find 
shelter, according to Gaza-based sources. 
 
Fighting Continues in Northern Gaza 
----------------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) Gaza-based press and the UN reported that fighting 
continued January 13-14 in the northern Gaza cities of Bayt Lahiya, 
Bayt Hanun, and Jabaliya, killing at least 13 militants. 
Palestinians in Jabaliya reported constant airstrikes during the 
afternoon of January 13, which killed at least three Palestinians 
and injured at least 21.  In one incident, the IAF killed two 
Palestinians traveling by cart in al-Falluja, west of Jablaliya, and 
wounded three others.  Airstrikes in the Jabaliya refugee camp 
killed seven and wounded an estimated 40 Palestinians the afternoon 
of January 13, according to Gaza-based press. 
 
Fighting Intensifies in Southern Gaza 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources reported that the IDF clashed with 
militants on the outskirts of Khan Yunis and in Abasan, killing at 
least one.  Mayor of Abasan al-Kibira Mustafa al-Shawaf told ConGen 
that a third of Abasan's residents have moved in with family in Khan 
Yunis or to UNRWA shelters.  He said water lines repaired January 12 
were destroyed again January 13, leaving much of the town without 
water. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Heavy fighting and IAF airstrikes in Khuza'a (east of Khan 
Yunis) killed a total of 11, including three militants, a 75-year 
old man, a woman, and two children.  Director of the Khuza'a 
Agricultural Center Abdul Halim Qudayah told ConGen that over 4,000 
of Khuza'a's 11,000 inhabitants have fled to Khan Yunis and Bani 
Suhayla in search of safety.  At least 80 homes have been destroyed 
and roughly 150 others damaged by IDF shelling and IAF airstrikes, 
he said, and hundreds of dunums of agricultural land in Gaza's 
"bread basket" have been burnt. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Press reported that IAF airstrikes targeted an estimated 
55 smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border area January 13-14.  The 
UN reported that an airstrike injured a cyclist in Khuza'a, and a 
separate airstrike killed one and wounded ten near Abasan. 
 
IDF Maintains Positions Throughout Gaza 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The UN reported that the IDF maintained positions near the 
Erez crossing, near al-Zahra village (northwest of the Nusayrat 
refugee camp), east of Johr al-Dik (northeast of al-Burayj), near 
Abu al-Ajeen (east of Dayr al-Balah), and east of the Rafah airport 
on January 14.  No fighting was reported in these locations.  The 
IDF continued to control the Karni-Netzarim Road, separating 
southern Gaza from the north. 
 
Rockets Continue 
---------------- 
 
JERUSALEM 00000130  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Press reported at least three rockets fired into Israel 
from Gaza on January 14 as of 1300 local, with no reported 
casualties.  Press reported 18-20 rockets from Gaza landed in Israel 
on January 13, causing no casualties.  This is the lowest number of 
rockets fired in a single day since the beginning of the Israeli 
operation in Gaza, probably because Israeli control of launching 
areas in northern Gaza has disrupted militants' ability to fire 
rockets. 
 
Casualties 
---------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Gaza-based medical sources told the press that a total of 
27-30 Palestinians died January 13-14.  The sources estimated that 
976 Palestinians have been killed since IDF operations began 
(including at least 311 children, 93 women, 13 paramedics, and three 
journalists), that 4,418 people have required medical treatment for 
injuries (including at least 1,549 children and 652 women), and more 
than 460 of the injured are in critical condition.  The sources said 
that the danger to medical staff and the difficulty of extracting 
the injured from collapsed buildings makes proper evacuation and 
estimation of casualties difficult. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Israeli press reported that five IDF paratroopers were 
wounded, two moderately and three lightly, during a gunbattle in 
northern Gaza the morning of January 14. 
 
Humanitarian Pause 
------------------ 
 
¶12.  (SBU) A "humanitarian pause" was scheduled January 14 from 
1300-1600 local.  UNRWA reported that it is operating 41 emergency 
shelters housing roughly 38,000 displaced persons as of January 14. 
The shelters are overcrowded and there continues to be a shortage of 
blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits, and non-potable water for 
washing.  UNRWA continues to provide one-a-day meals of pita and 
tinned meat as well as potable water.  One shelter in the far 
northern village of Khalil Uwayda (near Izbit Bayt Hanun) is behind 
IDF lines and has not been accessible for two days. 
 
Political Developments 
---------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U) Following a meeting of the PLO Executive Committee on 
January 13, Yaser Abed Rabbo stated publicly that international 
forces would be a "protective fence" for Gazans, and would not harm 
Palestinian interests.  He said that all factions must work 
together.  Abed Rabbo said the PLO and the PA will freeze 
non-emergency projects in order to provide assistance to Gazans, who 
are facing a "massacre." 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Fatah officials said Hamas has rejected the Egyptian 
ceasefire proposal, including deployment of PASF at the Rafah 
crossing, and continues to oppose the deployment of international 
forces in Gaza.  Hamas Deputy Political Bureau Chief Musa Abu Marzuq 
reiterated Hamas' demands regarding a ceasefire (reftel).  Fatah PLC 
member Azzam al-Ahmad urged Abu Marzuq by phone to accept the 
Egyptian initiative to facilitate an immediate ceasefire, instead of 
giving Israel more time to achieve its goals. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) PA sources said that President Abbas will attend the 
January 19-20 Economic Arab Summit in Kuwait.  A senior PLO official 
told the Consul General that Abbas will be under pressure to attend 
an emergency Arab League meeting in Doha on January 16, now that a 
quorum of Arab League members have announced support for it.   Azzam 
al-Ahmad said the PA rejected Qatar's suggestion to invite Hamas 
Political Bureau Chief Khalid Mishaal to attend the summit. 
 
West Bank Reaction and Security 
------------------------------- 
 
¶16.  (SBU) Israeli security forces on January 13 shot and killed a 
Palestinian from the village of Ithna when he attempted to take the 
gun of a Border Policeman at Tarqumia checkpoint, west of Hebron.  A 
settler from Emmanuel shot and killed a 17-year old Palestinian who 
allegedly threw rocks at his car east of Qalqiliya.  Late on January 
13, Palestinians threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli car on Route 
60, near Bethlehem.  The IDF arrested four Palestinians in the 
Bethlehem and Nablus areas January 13-14. 
 
WALLES