Israeli tanks and troops have entered southern Gaza after warplanes attacked three bridges and knocked out electricity to the coastal strip—in response to the capture of a young Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants. (AP, June 28) But mainstream reports are missing some vital context. A letter printed in the Toronto Globe and Mail, June 27:

From Israel's largest newspaper, Yediot Aharanot:

Refuseniks call on soldiers to refuse striking Gaza
June 23
by Yossi Yehoshua

While Human Rights Watch has revealed yet more evidence showing the Israeli army's culpability in shelling an innocent family of Palestinian bathers in Gaza, Israel still officially denies its responsibility. An Israeli parliamentarian is calling for an outside investigation.

Hamas called off a 16-month-old truce with Israel June 9 after attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza killed 10 Palestinians, including three children playing on a beach. "The Israeli massacres represent a direct opening battle," Hamas said in a statement. Prime Minister Esmail Haniya, also a Hamas leader, called the deaths a "war crime" and urged Jordan and Egypt to intervene.

More uneasy deja vu from Lebanon. The sons of the Syria-backed President Emile Lahoud and the bitterly anti-Syria Druze leader Walid Jumblatt get into a shoot-out in Beirut—just as their fathers opposed each other in the civil war. From Lebanon's Daily Star, June 5:

BEIRUT: Following in their father's footsteps, Ralph Lahoud and Najib Jumblatt clashed on Saturday in a shooting incident that damaged Jumblatt's car. Newspapers reported on Sunday that shots were fired by President Emile Lahoud's younger son's bodyguards at the car of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's stepson in the bustling street of Ain Mreisseh.

Received by email:

The Congress of South African Trade Unions issues statement supporting CUPE resolution

The President, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, June 6, 2006

Brother Sid Ryan,

On behalf over 1,2 million South African workers organized under the banner of COSATU I greet you in the name of worker internationalism. It is this solidarity, since the formation of the very first union and across space and time, often in the face of harsh repression, that provided vital moral succour and allowed workers to strengthen their resolve against oppression and exploitation.

From the JTA, May 20:

Congresswoman cuts off AIPAC
A congresswoman says AIPAC is unwelcome in her office until it apologizes for an activist who called her a terrorist supporter.

Israel is continuing "targetted assassinations" in supposedly unoccupied Gaza. But internecine Palestinian violence, alas, now seems equally efficient in killing off the Palestinian leadership.

An Israeli missile strike on a car in Gaza City May 20 killed a top Islamic Jihad commander, Mohammed Dahdouh. A Palestinian woman, Hanan Aman, her 4-year-old son Mohanad and a female relative Naima Aman were also killed in the attack, and three others wounded. (Al-Bawaba, May 20)