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For a few hours, Gazans could breathe more easily By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff Three-hour hiatus in hostilities also allowed Palestinians to bury their dead, stock up on food and visit long-abandoned places of work The three-hour humanitarian cease-fire provided no small relief to Gazans yesterday. "The feeling we got for those few hours," said Abu Said of the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, "is that we can breathe again. The explosions stopped, there wasn't any shelling or exchanges of gunfire." The flow of cars on the streets resumed, and the neighborhoods were filled with people for the first time since the Israeli operation began. Abu Said allowed himself to visit his office in the center of Gaza City. "Everything was destroyed, praise God," he joked. Advertisement His friend Karim added: "Finally, we saw children, women and passersby going shopping. The problem is there is a serious food shortage. There are no dairy products or baby formula. If you go to the supermarket, you'll see a lot of empty shelves." "There is no fresh meat, but people adapt. They buy ful (fava beans), rice, [other] beans - basic products. Some say this three-hour cease-fire was intended to prepare us for a long war," he said. The war returned in the evening. Electricity went out, and the water supply was disrupted. An artillery shell struck the Abed Rabbo home in the northeast Strip, killing three girls, aged 2, 4 and 6. Four armed militants were killed in Beit Lahia and two others in al-Bureij refugee camp. "We've gone back to listening to radio on batteries, because there's no electricity," Karim said. Yesterday the World Bank warned of severe problems in water supply and sewage functioning, which has caused significant flooding in the village of Beit Lahia and is liable to spread disease. An initial Israel Defense Forces investigation indicates a rocket was indeed fired from the UNRWA school Tuesday, as the army had initially claimed. The ensuing mortar strike was fired by a paratroopers unit after a rocket identification system spotted the launch site in the schoolyard. The initial IDF investigation indicates the mortar missed its target by 30 meters - roughly the distance between the schoolyard and the school itself, in which Palestinian civilians had taken refuge. Of those killed in the strike, two have been identified as members of Hamas' armed wing involved with rocket launching. Israeli officials said Hamas is trying to downplay the presence of militants so as to use the strike for its own public relations purposes. The United Nations yesterday denied the IDF claim. Christopher Gunness of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said the organization is 99.9 percent certain there were no militants or military activity in its school. "That does not necessarily contradict Israel's claim that the militants were operating close by," Gunness said. Gunness put the death toll of the shelling at 40, and added that the agency wants an impartial investigation of witnesses, Israeli military photographs or any other evidence. The IDF on Tuesday released video footage from 2007 showing Palestinian militants firing from the school compound and carrying a rocket launcher with them as they fled the scene. Gunness said the 2007 video bears no connection to Tuesday's military strike on the school. The IDF bombed the UNRWA school, Fakhura, on Tuesday after militants fired mortars at troops from inside the school, according to the IDF Spokesman's Office. The bodies of militants were found inside, it added. Three shells hit the girls elementary school, which is located near the Jabalya refugee camp, according to Gunness. Fakhura, like many other UNRWA schools, was serving as a refuge for people who had been forced to flee their homes. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Fallen hero Relatives mourn Maj. Roey Rosner, 27, killed Wednesday by Gaza militants. On the northern front Hezbollah denies responsibility for two rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon.

Read & React Red Cross: Israel breaking int'l law, letting children starve in Gaza Responses: 114 Two Lebanon rockets hit North; Hezbollah denies involvment Responses: 68 Yossi Melman: Excellent intel on Gaza shows Israel learned from Lebanon errors Responses: 21 Yoav Stern: Rocket fire on North may be realization of Iran threat Responses: 25 Gideon Lichfield: So, why isn't Israel winning the PR war? Responses: 74 More Headlines 23:04 Third IDF soldier killed in Gaza over past 24 hours 22:37 Draft UN Security Council resolution doesn't call for immediate Gaza truce 02:23 Report: Obama ready to talk to Hamas after taking office 02:24 'This country exists because of people like him' 22:35 Israel to present complaint to UN over Lebanon rocket fire 01:24 European Jews to hold rallies supporting Israel's Gaza offensive 22:10 'I pray that he will watch over us, he died a hero' 22:38 At least two Lebanon rockets hit north Israel; Hezbollah denies involvment 02:06 UN: Army admitted school shelling was by mistake 18:20 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 22:05 IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi tours Gaza battlefields 23:11 WATCH: Olmert spokesman says Israel never sought war in Gaza 18:12 ANALYSIS / Rocket fire on North may be realization of Iran threat 19:57 UN says halting aid to Gaza, citing danger to staff from IDF 15:01 ANALYSIS / Excellent intel on Gaza shows Israel learned from its errors in Lebanon 19:07 Palestinians: 35 found dead in rubble of Gaza battle zone 17:07 Olmert: IDF has not yet achieved all its goals in Gaza offensive 20:35 WATCH: U.S. Senate voices strong support for Israel's Gaza battle against Hamas 18:53 Sarkozy: Halt to arms smuggling is key to Gaza cease-fire 16:08 Red Cross: Israel breaking int'l law, letting children starve in Gaza 21:49 Iran bans volunteer suicide bombers from traveling to Israel 17:18 Palestinian shot dead after trying to blow up settlement gas station Previous Editions Select Day 08 jan 07 jan 06 jan 05 jan 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec

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