Babies among dead on Gaza front line

As events continue to unfold so badly for Israel in Lebanon, we must not forget the ongoing situation facing the Palestinians in Gaza which is, as described by Saeb Erekat, a senior aide to Abbas, "The forgotten war," he said. "We urge the international community to intervene."

On Tuesday Hamas offered Israel the return of Gilad Shalit if Israel would offer them a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange.

Yesterday, Israel gave her reply.

Israeli shells struck at a rate of one a minute throughout the afternoon, with the buildings of Beit Hanoun shaking under the sustained fire. The army has killed 140 Palestinians since it began its assault. About half are civilians.

Yesterday's barrage against the Palestinians killed at least 19 Palestinians, including three children and a handicapped man. Two Palestinian girls, one just eight months old, were amongst the dead.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, rejected demands by militants to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Cpl Shalit, but said he might consider it later to help Mr Abbas, a moderate.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said: "The Hamas position is clear. There must be a reciprocity of time and action in the process, meaning the soldier gets freed and Palestinian prisoners go free at the same time."

Olmert's position is simply bizarre. He concedes that he might agree to a prisoner exchange somewhere down the line but refuses to do so now meaning this cycle of violence must continue.

Olmert has taken on as un-winnable a battle here as the one he fights in Lebanon. His unstated goal in Gaza is the collapse of the government of Hamas, although he surely realises that the more brutal he is with the people of Palestine, the more he ensures that Hamas will be re-elected.

One thing appears certain in all this. Israel will end these battles severely damaged, both in terms of her reputation as "a peaceful nation surrounded by hostile Arab regimes" and in terms of her military reputation as a force that can act with impunity.

Perhaps one day, Olmert will regret that he acted so hastily after Gilad Shalit was kidnapped.

For it appears that, after all this bloodshed and violence, Olmert is going to have to make the deal that was always on the table.

The price of that, to both Israel and the US on the world stage, will be huge.

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Tags: Olmert, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Gilad Shalit, Hamas, Hizbullah, capture, kidnap, Lebanon, Syria, Iran,