Israel seeks support for ground offensive

Published on Monday 22 December 2008 21:02

GAZA'S ruling Hamas militants yesterday floated the idea of a 24-hour halt in rocket fire.

However, as rockets continued to fall, Israel launched a diplomatic push to gain world sympathy for a possible ground offensive.

With incidents of rocket fire increasing in recent days, security officials warning that more cities are in range and public pressure for military action on the rise, Israel is trying to prepare foreign governments for the possibility that it might hit Gaza with infantry and tanks.

The diplomatic offensive also sends an indirect message to Hamas that Israel is ready to act.

Explaining the diplomatic push, Yigal Palmor, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, said: "People abroad perhaps do not understand the real distress of Israelis in the south, who live with the rocket threat.

"Then you wake up in the morning with an Israeli response, and you don't understand where it came from."

Israel's decision to unleash its diplomats reflects the fact that most world attention has been focused on hardships in Gaza.

Since Hamas overran Gaza last year, Israel has severely limited shipments through its crossings with Gaza, and shortages are widespread.

Israel also accuses Hamas of manipulating supplies for propaganda purposes.