War Glance
The U.S. military has sought to hire a merchant ship to deliver ammunition to Israel this month, tender documents show, but the Pentagon said the shipment was not linked to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
A Pentagon spokesman said the ammunition was for a U.S. stockpile in Israel. The U.S. military pre-positions stockpiles in some countries in case it needs supplies at short notice.
The shipment originated in the United States, Ryder said. He provided no further details on the intended cargo.
A "hazardous material" designation on the manifest mentions explosive substances and detonators but gives no other details.
I live alone in my office. My wife and two young children moved in with her father after our apartment was shattered. The neighborhood mosque, where I have prayed since I was a child, had its roof blown off. All the government buildings on my beat have been obliterated.
Israel rejected calls by the UN, EU and France for a ceasefire and instead prepared for what could be "long weeks of combat," as a ferocious air offensive against Hamas in he Gaza Strip entered its fourth day Tuesday. An Israeli defence official said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had proposed to Israel that it unilaterally halt its assault for 48 hours to give Hamas a chance to end its rocket and mortar attacks as well.
