Israel`s Gaza assault reportedly kills 286, wounds over 900

JERUSALEM, Dec. 28 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING CASUALTIES, 1ST GRAF; ABBAS BLAMES HAMAS, 4TH, 5TH GRAFS)
Israel launched airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip for the second
successive day on Sunday, leaving 286 people dead over two days and about 900
wounded, according to Palestinian rescue workers and news reports.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council met in emergency session late Saturday
and issued a statement calling for a halt to all violence between Israel and
Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which rules the Gaza Strip.
''The members of the Security Council expressed serious concern at the
escalation of the situation in Gaza and called for an immediate halt to all
violence,'' according to the statement, released in the early hours of Sunday.
In Cairo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed the rival Hamas leadership
for triggering the air raids by refusing to extend an Egyptian-brokered
six-month truce with Israel.
''We talked to them (Hamas) and we told them, 'Please, we ask you, do not end
the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop,' so that we could have avoided
what happened,'' he told reporters in Cairo following a meeting with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.
The Israeli military said Israeli warplanes and combat helicopters attacked
more than 20 sites in Gaza.
Hamas pledged revenge including suicide bomb attacks in the ''cafes and
streets'' of Israel as the airstrikes continued late into the night, Reuters
reported.
Israel said the strikes were in response to almost daily rocket and mortar fire
by Gaza militants, which intensified after Hamas ended the six-month cease-fire
a week ago.
The rockets caused some injuries, but Israeli leaders were under pressure to
stop the attacks ahead of a Feb. 10 election, which opinion polls show the
right-wing opposition Likud party could win, the Reuters report said.
Israel said its warplanes launched about 100 strikes Saturday and that
Palestinian militants had fired around 70 rockets, killing an Israeli man,
according to the report.
In a statement issued late Saturday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said he
''is deeply alarmed by today's heavy violence and bloodshed in Gaza, and the
continuation of violence in southern Israel.''
''While recognizing Israel's security concerns regarding the continued firing
of rockets from Gaza, he firmly reiterates Israel's obligation to uphold
international humanitarian and human rights law and condemns excessive use of
force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians,'' the statement said.
In Cairo, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said late Saturday that Arab
League foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Wednesday, instead of Sunday as
initially planned, citing scheduling conflicts for some Arab League foreign
ministers.
==Kyodo