Haaretz: "At least 32 Palestinians were killed, among them 10 civilians - including five children and three women - during an ongoing Israel Defense Forces ground incursion near the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabaliya which began before dawn Saturday. Five IDF soldiers were wounded during the fighting - three of them lightly and two others who suffered light to moderate injuries. The soldiers were evacuated to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheba for treatment. Sources in Gaza report that IDF soldiers exchanged heavy gunfire with Palestinian gunmen on the eastern outskirts of Jabaliya, situated 2-3 kilometers from the fence which lies on the Israel-Gaza border. The ground forces, which included units from Givati Brigades, the Armored Corps, and the Engineering Corps, received air support from the Israel Air Force." More from the AP.

An American friend who travels on business to the region writes, "Saw your posts and thought I would pass along some info I just received from my contacts in the Golan- they are preparing for another extended war. Local officials are telling them to stock their bomb shelters with 3 weeks of supplies at a minimum. They believe Hezbollah will attack around March 22 as the 40 day mourning period is over for Mughniyeh. Conventional wisdom there is that no amount of US firepower in the Med is going to deter Nasrallah from seeking revenge. We also discussed the possibility of the IDF having to operate a two front battle plan with the continued unrest in the South. I was in Bahrain two weeks ago and met with some colleagues who were just in Beirut. They report the situation in Lebanon is worsening by the day."

Posted by Laura at March 1, 2008 08:15 AM