Operation Cast Lead (Day Twenty-Two)

Israel declares a unilateral cease-fire. The National Security Cabinet vote was seven for, two against, and one abstain. Olmert announced that Israel had completed their objective and the cease-fire would begin at 2:00am Sunday (Israeli time) [deadline passed]. Hamas said that they will continue to fight as long as the IDF has a presence in Gaza Strip. Olmert added that if Hamas continued launching rockets into Israel that the IDF would strike back. Israeli forces will stay in Gaza until the rockets stop the Hamas will launch rockets until they leave, I wonder how this cease-fire is going to go. (More at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3657707,00.html, http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5053R720090117?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews, and http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1232100163477&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull.)

Israel seemed to be getting in some "last licks" striking at a number of targets as the 2:00am deadline approached. Hamas is not just sitting their, and has continued to launch rockets.

Less then 20 minutes into the cease-fire it has been broken. Muqata.blogspot.com reports that the Israeli Air Force struck a rocket launcher as it was about to launch a missile at Israel. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see if this is a slight hiccup or an indication that the cease-fire failed.

Please note that unlike the news stories above, not all the videos are from today. That does not mean that they are not worth watching, which indeed they are. They are also not present anywhere else in this serious of posts, meaning no repeats.

This video shows Hamas using human shields. Skip to one-minute where you can see the helicopters flying over head. Then you see Hamas gunman shooting at the helicopter before scattering into the crowd. (http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/32480_Video-_Hamas_Uses_Children_As_Spotters)

Video embedded below.



In Germany, a crowd of around 30 harassed an Israeli owned kiosk selling Spa products that used minerals from the Dead Sea. (http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/good-god-gaza-and-gonzo)

Video embedded below.



This is a nice overview of some of the pro-Hamas rallies. Some of the footage you will have seen in other clips posted here, but seeing them all back to back is worth it. (http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/972)

Video embedded below.