Source: Presstv.ir, 29-12-2008
Hamas has called for the permanent and unconditional opening of the Rafah border crossing amid "Israeli" preparations for ground attacks.
"We totally disagree with the strange logic of opening Rafah border crossing only to the mutilated bodies of our people while the 1.5 million people alive are imprisoned in the violence-stricken region by "Israel"," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Sunday.
Barhoum urged Egypt and the Arab world to take measures to deal with the ongoing crisis in Gaza and bring to an end the blockade against the impoverished region.
A blockade has been imposed on Gaza since 2007 when the democratically-elected Hamas took the control of the coastal area.
Hamas says Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing only for those critically wounded. Cairo says the Palestinian group has itself prohibited hundreds of Palestinians from leaving Gaza for treatment.
Humanitarian aid, including 40 ambulances and 20 trucks, are at the road leading to the border and await permission to enter the Gaza Strip, according to IRIB.
"Israel" has been staging massive air strikes against civilian and military targets in Gaza since Saturday. So far at least 310 people have been killed, many of whom are women and children. Medical sources have confirmed to Press TV reporters at the scene that at least 1550 others have been injured.
The conflict between the "Israelis" and Palestinians began with a 1948 decision by world powers to create "Israel" under the Zionist slogan of 'A land without a people for a people without a land'.
The creation of "Israel" has sparked fury as the Palestinians -- the natives of the land -- have since been denied their rights to effective political power and have suffered from a Zionist segregation campaign and ongoing settlement expansions by "Israel".
Tel Aviv says it is the Palestinians who have resorted to armed confrontation. The Palestinians say the "Israelis" have subjected them to a barrage of violent attacks and that they are exercising their right to self-defense and resistance.