Been watching quite a lot of Sky News whilst at work today and I'm noticing a shift in emphasis on what is being filmed ie: civilian casualties.

It could be that is what the Palestinian authorities are directing the news teams toward.

There is also talk of a possible ceasefire but both sides are probably finding it hard to agree on a face saving script for the worlds media.

Could it be that the media office Sky News was using got bombed yesterday?

Yeah, possibly.

It was just a suggestion that may or may not have bearing.:03:
However if you look at Israeli media following that family getting wiped out there is a wide sense of "oh bugger thats blown it on the proopoganda front now its just gonna be a rerun of the fiasco in Lebanon".

Lets face it, both sides in this conflict are run by idiots and the only approach either will try is just the same tired old crap again and again.

With idiots like these (who look forward to death), how can anyone expect an even half baked ceasfire to work? Doesn't look like even Hamas can control them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/wo...ef=israel&_r=0

IIRC it's the second or third time yhe building has been attacked.

I'm not sure what missiles are being used but they must be accurate because the Israelis appear to be picking the building floors of their choice.

From what I've read, the Israelis were going after some Hamas militant leader who has an apartment there, and they got him in a missile strike. Now there are fires on the lower levels and folks are trapped on the top floors.

Israel are accusing the Hamas hierarchy of hiding amongst civilians which is more or less tantamount to using them as human shields.

That's one of their favorite tactics in the ME!

LINK: Verified incident map

Constantly updated markers on incidents reported from news and wires from across the region.

The BBC has a similar, :know:

A series of very interesting background analysis by Stratfor (subscription required).

In brief they argue that the Israeli operation was triggered by an operation from the 23rd of October, when most likely Israeli commandos struck a weapon factory in Yarmouk near Khatoum, Sudan. Iran used it to produce weapons for Hamas, among them Fajr-5 missiles that can reach as far as Tel Aviv. The weapons got delivered to Gaza via Egypt.

Just two days later, after Hamas must have realised that by the strike in Sudan Israel learned about the Fajr-5, Hamas signed a seize fire with Israel, but other organisation intensified the shelling of Southern Israel, and stepped it up again from 10th Novembre on. But then Israel'S preparation for reacting to the new thread posed by the Fajr-5, already was running at full speed.

Stratfor as well as the Jerusalem Post reason that destroying the Fajr-5 is the main objective, and in preparation of ground operations they try to weaken the non-Hamas-militias by beefing up attacks to disrupt the medium command level and targetting commanders on that level, they also have intensified bombardement of certain facilities and sites in Gaza in an attempt to catch the Fajr's. However, both publications imply that if the Fajr-objective is valid still, a ground offensive to search for them with boots in the streets is inevitable. That two Fajr's got fired at Tel Aviv just yesterday shows, that they cannot be found and neutralised by airpower alone.

A German comment remarks also this: until Monday afternoon, Israel has struck over 1000 target sites in Gaza, a heavily populated area of dense urbanity. Despite the colossal number of strikes and the extreme difficulties to differ between civilian and military targets, only - and I repeat: ONLY - 91 civilians until Monday afternoon have been killed. That makes this war operation so far the most surgical and precise military operation in the history of mankind. With the shifting towards targetting medium level military commanders to weaken the non-Hamas militias, this number will go up. And still, for a war under these conditions, the precision and low level of collateral losses is breathtaking.

It also seems that Israel has had very good intel on the situation in Gaza. Definitely better prepared than in 2006.

This is still freely accessible:
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/con...d-assault-gaza

For this you need to subscribe:
http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analy...gaza-offensive
http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analy...rgeted-rockets
http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analy...eting-tel-aviv
http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analy...pillar-defense

About Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor

^Intriguing Sky,:yep:

They can do whatever they want.

As long as no American lives or money is spent in the process.

Oh I forgot, not possible.

More burials in Arlington for us Americans...

Good thing they love (moar like use amirite?!!?!???) us...Oh wait...

I see Skybird is cool after all
 

Great points and presentation. I promise to stop thinking of you to myself as "Stuka" and only think of you as "Skybird". From here on out if some of your diatribes sound a bit like a 19th century Prussian farmer complaining at a kitchen table in the morning, I promise to just think of you as my Uncle Bud. You rock guy!