Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem arrived in Gaza for a brief visit on Saturday morning — under continued firing and bombardment, without any truce arrangements — ahead of an emergency Arab League meeting scheduled for 3:00 in Cairo. The Tunisian FM’s crossing into Gaza via Rafah border point was announced by Hamas.
Al-Jazeera picked up here AFP’s report quoting Hamas interior ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan on Saturday morning, saying that the Tunisian delegation would head to “the headquarters of the government destroyed by the occupation this morning, where he will meet with government officials.”
NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel [@RichardEngel] tweeted a photo, posted here of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s office building, which had just been destroyed by an IDF air raid at 6:00 am Saturday:
@RichardEngel – Nothing left of hamas pm’s office in #Gaza http://yfrog.com/kfum8huj
The IDF later released a video of their strike on this building. It was Tweeted by Grant Rumley [@Grant_Rumley]: “IDF releases video of air strike on #Hamas’ PM Haniyeh’s headquarters here.
Only a few days ago, the Israeli Transport Minister called for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. Reports throughout the last days tell of naval firing near Haniyeh’s home in Shatia'[Beach] Palestinian refugee camp…
The Tunisian FM reportedly addressed crowd in Gaza, and called for a stop to Israeli aggression. He also urged all Arab leaders to visit Gaza.
Other targets reportedly struck in Gaza either overnight or this morning include: the Interior Ministry, again; the Parliament building [as in 2008]; the Police Headquarters [also as in Operation Cast Lead — but this time empty or nearly so at 03:30 am, without a courtyard full of graduating cadets, so 275 were not killed]; the football or sports stadium; tunnels in Rafah.
The IDF also Tweeted that “Palestinian [outgoing] mortar fire damages electricity cable in southern Israel resulting in power outage in #Gaza”.
By middday in Jerusalem, the Palestinian death toll had risen to 39. And, there were reports of further talks being conducted in Cairo concerning a possible cease-fire between Israel + Hamas.
Overnight, U.S. President Obama called Egypt’s President Morsi and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu [who thanked Obama for Iron Dome funding and other defense support].