DEBKAfile Special Report January 31, 2009, 10:48 AM (GMT+02:00) Hamas again breached the ceasefire it declared Jan. 19 Saturday, Jan. 31, with a Grad rocket fired against the town of Ashkelon to the north of Gaza. It exploded harmlessly on open ground after a siren alerted the population. An Israeli air strike hit the rocket team. A major Israeli response to repeated Hamas violations is expected, Round Two of Operation Cast Lead. DEBKAfile Special Report January 30, 2009, 11:05 PM (GMT+02:00) Cyprus president Demetris Christofias said Friday, Jan. 30, that a ship being searched off Limassol is carrying a cargo that contravenes UN resolutions. Cyprus state radio reported the vessel was Russian-owned and may have been traveling from Iran to Syria with weapons destined for Hamas. DEBKAfile cites UN Security Council Resolution 1747 of March 24, 2007, which toughened sanctions against Iran to include a ban on the country's arms exports, and would have provided the US Navy with authority to seize the arms. However, it was allowed to continue on it voyage. January 27, 2009, 6:49 PM (GMT+02:00) Palestinian bomb blows up Israel patrol outside Gaza fence The Israeli soldier was killed and three others were injured, one seriously, Tuesday, Jan. 27, when Palestinians detonated a large explosive device against a routine Israeli military patrol near the Kissufim crossing a week after Israeli troops exited the Gaza Strip.DEBKAfile's military sources expected more military action after defense minister Ehud Barak warned that Israel would respond to the Palestinians' unacceptable breach of the ceasefire. DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 31, 2009, 11:12 PM (GMT+02:00) Iran arms ship in Limassol Israel informed Washington, Cairo and Nicosia that surface missiles bound for Hamas are concealed in the Cypriot-flaggedIran Hedayt which the US intercepted but did not stop in the Red Sea last week. DEBKAfile's military sources report that after neither the US nor Egypt laid hands on the cargo when they had the chance, Cyprus finds itself stuck Saturday, Jan 31, with hard choices: if it lets the ship go without a further search, Israel may seize it and precipitate an armed clash with Iran. Tehran on the other hand threatens Nicosia with diplomatic and economic retribution if the vessel is not released forthwith. DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 31, 2009, 6:16 PM (GMT+02:00) Iran's C-802 shore-to-ship missile DEBKAfile's military sources reveal a formidable addition to Hamas' arsenal: The missile fired from Gaza out to the Mediterranean last week was not a Qassam as reported but a C-802, the Iranian shore-to-ship Nur C-802 missile, which is based on the Chinese "Silkworm." It was launched by Iranian officers who are training Hamas operatives in its use before delivering a large consignment. With its 120-km range and 165-kilo warhead, the C-802's mission is to break Israel's 40 km blockade of Gaza's waters. This is now the key objective of Tehran and the Palestinian Islamists. January 31, 2009, 2:41 PM (GMT+02:00) Iran's government spokesman is quoted as saying Saturday, Jan. 31 that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Khomeini's overthrow of the shah that Iran's Islamic revolution was not limited to its borders. His response to the US president Barack Obama's overtures was a demand that America apologize for 60 years of "crimes against Iran" and its new president carry out a "deep and fundamental change." DEBKAfile Excllusive Report January 30, 2009, 6:17 PM (GMT+02:00) Iranian "aid ship" for Gaza DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources report that the aid shipIran Shahed , which the Israel embargo of the Gaza Strip forced to stay 42 km from the coast, took delivery Monday, Jan. 26 of sophisticated communications equipment from Cyprus for maintaining contact with Hamas leaders who remain in hiding. It came with a group of maintenance engineers. January 30, 2009, 1:13 AM (GMT+02:00) Turkish premier berates Israel at Davos At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday, Jan. 29, reproached Israeli president Shimon Peres over the Gaza offensive, saying "You kill people." Israeli president Shimon Peres said, raising his voice, Israel's 22-day offensive was launched in reaction to eight years of rocket fire. Turning to Erdogan, he asked: What you would do if rockets landed on Istanbul every night? The Israeli leader later called the Turkish premier and they agreed that incident would not affect relations betGaza rocket alarms Ashkelon Saturday in another Hamas ceasefire breach
More...Cyprus searches ship carrying banned Iranian arms destined for Hamas
More...Major Israeli reprisal pending against Hamas for bomb which killed soldier
More...Cyprus fears if Iran arms ship is released, Israeli navy will seize it
More...Hamas fires first Iranian shore-to-ship C-802 missile from Gaza
MoreTehran: Obama's offer of talks shows US "policy of domination" failed
Iran's blocked Gaza aid ship is now control-and-command HQ for Hamas
More...Turkish premier storms out of Davos after run-in with Israeli president
Sunday, 1 February 2009
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