Hamas Ends Ceasefire, Bombs Fly Killing Their Own

On December 19th, 2008, the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, issued the following statement: "The ceasefire is over and there won’t be a renewal because the Zionist enemy has not respected its conditions. We issue a warning to the Zionist enemy: all attacks against the Gaza Strip or any new crime will trigger a large-scale confrontation and we will retaliate very fiercely." Following the election of Barack Obama, a poll was conducted by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah. It found that 49% of Israelis and 57% of Palestinians want the US to play a more active role in the conflict. Also according to that poll, 51% of Israelis said they supported the continuation of the ceasefire agreement while 44% were oppose it. Amongst Palestinians, a whopping 74% support the continuation of the ceasefire agreement with only 23% in opposition. In the immediate aftermath of last weeks statement by Hamas, an Israeli spokeswoman reported that two rockets were fired into southern Israel but there were no casualties, injuries or material damage. On Christmas Day, Israel Today reported that over the prior three days, Hamas had fired over 100 rockets at Israel. Property damages was reported as being "extensive" but there were no injuries to Israeli's. However, at least six Palestinian Arabs (including four children) were injured when the rockets fell short of their Israeli targets and instead, hit Gaza villages. Today, the barrage of bombs aimed at Israel continues with reports that twenty-five mortar shells were lobbed into Israel overnight. Tragically Yahoo News is reporting that a rocket that appears to have been fired by Palestinians at Israeli targets, instead misfired, hit a house in Beit Lahiya, a village in Northern Gaza, and killed two young sisters, aged 5 and 13.