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DE RUEHJM #0138/01 0151211
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O 151211Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3853
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000138 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA, NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL/RAMCHAND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PTER MOPS PHUM PREF AFSN CASC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA UPDATE JANUARY 15, 2009, 1300 LOCAL 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  IDF troops moved central Gaza City the morning 
of January 15.  Contacts there told ConGenOffs by phone that the 
city is "burning" and residents are fleeing as the IDF advanced into 
the city center from three directions.  They said the threat to 
their lives increased and humanitarian conditions are worsening as 
the fighting continues.  Gaza-based contacts report that the IDF is 
within 500 meters of the al-Shifa hospital, that IDF strikes set 
fire to the al-Quds Hospital, that a PRCS hospital was hit by 
Israeli shelling, and that two Palestinians were killed during an 
attempted fire brigade response.  UNRWA reports that its main 
compound in central Gaza City sustained shelling by the IDF in the 
morning, causing a major fire consuming its warehouse and workshop. 
Post received the first report of an AmCit fatality in Gaza and one 
of our remaining FSNs reported that his house was destroyed and his 
family was in grave danger.  Airstrikes targeted at least 70 targets 
across the Gaza Strip January 14-15, many of them Hamas-affiliated 
buildings and smuggling tunnels.  Gaza-based medical sources 
reported a total of 42 deaths January 14-15, bringing the total 
estimate to 1,054 killed and 4,850 wounded since IDF operations 
began.  End summary. 
 
IDF Operations Enter Gaza City 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The IDF pushed further into Gaza City center January 15, 
backed by helicopters, tanks, and heavy guns.  A Gaza-based fuel 
sector executive told EconOff that the IDF began moving into 
residential areas from the north and east the evening of January 14. 
 Heavy fighting occurred January 15 in the western neighborhoods of 
Shaykh Ajleen and Tel al-Hawa, where IDF troops reached positions 
near the former PA PSO headquarters.  Militants employed machine 
guns, roadside charges, grenades, and suicide bombers against the 
IDF forces.  There was heavy fighting in the southern neighborhoods 
of the city, where the IDF pushed northward into the Sabra 
neighborhood, killing at least two militants.  Fighting was reported 
for the first time in the Beach (aka Shati) refugee camp.  Israeli 
Engineering Corps soldiers reportedly destroyed a cache of 20 
Katyusha rockets in Gaza City.  IAF airstrikes were reported in Tel 
al-Hawa, Zaytun, and the western neighborhood of Rimal, targeting 
Hamas-affiliated homes and offices, and at least one mosqueHAMAS 
HAMAkdlasdf. 
 
Gaza City Residents Fear For Their Lives 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources and press reported that thousands of 
Gaza City residents fled their homes January 15 as the IDF advanced. 
 The fuel sector executive said the city was full of smoke from 
burning buildings.  He said tanks and other military vehicles were 
within 500 meters of al-Shifa Hospital, and IDF strikes set fire to 
the al-Quds Hospital, endangering many patients.  ICRC reported that 
a PRCS hospital was hit by Israeli shelling, and that two 
Palestinians were killed when fire brigades attempted to respond. 
Transportation contacts and AmCits in Gaza City told ConGen that a 
fire at UNRWA's main compound in central Gaza City was "out of 
control" after several hours of IDF shelling the morning of January 
15, and television coverage showed the compound burning.  The UN 
reported three casualties at the compound and said they were trying 
to remove several full fuel tankers to avoid an explosion.  In the 
meantime, they were encouraging Gazans to seek shelter at the nearby 
Center for the Blind compound.  A Gaza-based contact reported to 
ConGen that the IDF occupied a floor in his apartment building, near 
the UNRWA compound.  He said he and his family were trapped in the 
building by heavy street fighting. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) American Corner Gaza Director Dr. Awni Karzon told PDOff 
that Gaza City has become significantly more dangerous, and 
residents fear for their lives.  He said the IDF is operating within 
several hundred meters of his home in the North Rimal neighborhood 
(northwest Gaza City) -- although he has not seen militants in the 
area -- and that the IDF is moving along major streets leading 
downtown, whichQe described as an "occupation."  He said the IDF 
warned al-Hilal Hospital administrators to evacuate the building, 
and began shelling the area around Islamic University, possibly in 
advance of occupying it.  Dr. Karzon said he doubts residents will 
take advantage of the daily "humanitarian pause," because they feel 
unsafe leaving their homes. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) One ConGen LES employee and his family, and one USAID LES 
employee and her family, were located in the Tel al-Hawa 
neighborhood as heavy fighting took place midday January 15. 
ConGen, USAID, and Embassy Tel Aviv were coordinating in order to 
make contact with the employees and direct them to potential safe 
havens. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) ConGen received a phone call the morning of January 15 in 
which a credible caller reported that Colorado-born AmCit Hassan Abu 
Shanab, whom ConGen was trying to help evacuate from Gaza, was 
 
JERUSALEM 00000138  002 OF 002 
 
 
killed in Gaza City January 14.  The caller did not provide 
information on how Abu Shanab died.  ConGen has tried to reach the 
caller and Abu Shanab but has not spoken with either as of 1300 
January 15. 
 
Fighting Continues in Northern Gaza 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The UN reported that fighting occurred the evening of 
January 14 in the northern Gaza cities of Bayt Lahiya, Bayt Hanun, 
and Jabaliya.  The Paratroopers 101st Battalion sustained two 
injuries during clashes in northern Gaza January 14, and the IDF 
shelled homes in Bayt Lahiya and Jabaliya, killing at least three 
non-combatants and wounding 12 others. 
 
Conditions Deteriorate in Southern Gaza 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Gaza-based sources and press reported that IAF airstrikes 
targeted an estimated 25 smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border 
area January 14-15, as well as a house and a mosque in the Barazil 
border neighborhood.  Mayor of Qarara (northeast of Khan Yunis) Eid 
Sulayman Abdullah told PolOff the evening of January 14 that many 
have fled from southern Gazan towns to Khan Yunis or UNRWA shelters 
seeking safety from the fighting.  He said shelters are overcrowded 
and resources, including good, are scarce. 
 
Rockets Continue 
---------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Press reported at least two Grad missiles and five Qassam 
rockets fired into Israel from Gaza January 15 as of 1300 local, 
causing no casualties but severely damaging one Israeli house and 
several vehicles.  Press reported 20 Grad missiles and Qassam 
rockets from Gaza landed in Israel January 14, causing no 
casualties. 
 
Casualties 
---------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Gaza-based medical sources told the press that a total of 
42 Palestinians died January 14-15.  The sources estimated that 
1,054 Palestinians have been killed since IDF operations began 
(including at least 311 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). 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Israeli press reported that between eleven and 22 IDF 
soldiers were lightly injured overnight during incidents in north 
Gaza. 
 
Humanitarian Pause 
------------------ 
 
¶12.  (SBU) A "humanitarian pause" was scheduled from 1100-1500 local 
January 15, although significant fighting and shelling continued 
after 1100.  ConGenOffs who were on the phone with Gaza contacts 
1100-1300 heard explosions in the background.  The IDF reported that 
it will not regularize pause timing in order to prevent militants 
from using a predictable window for attacks. 
 
Political Developments 
---------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U) Head of Hamas PLC bloc Salah Bardawil publicly said January 
14 that Hamas has presented its comments on the Egyptian proposal 
and is working to achieve a ceasefire that meets Hamas's demands. 
 
West Bank Reaction and Security 
------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Israeli security forces imposed a curfew for several 
hours on the village of Huwara, south of Nablus, as they searched 
several houses.  The IDF removed dozens of settlers on January 14 
who blocked the road to Qaryut village, south of Nablus.  Late 
January 14, the IDF clashed with protesting Palestinians in 
al-Jadeera village, southeast of Ramallah, injuring five 
Palestinians with rubber bullets.  Israeli Border Police clashed 
with Palestinians in Shuafat refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, where 
four Border Policemen were lightly injured by stones, and a 16-year 
old Palestinian was beaten and arrested.  Several peaceful protests 
took place across the West Bank January 14.  The IDF arrested 24 
Palestinians across the West Bank January 14-15. 
 
 
WALLES