Gaza takes another pounding

Israel launched yet another airstrike on Gaza today even as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the region to try to rescue peace talks from the latest outbreak of violence.

Ms Rice hopes to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiations he cut off on Sunday after more than 120 Gazans were killed in an Israeli operation against militants bombarding southern Israel with rocket and mortar fire.

Although Mr Abbas has had little power over the coastal area of 1.4 million people since Hamas seized control in June, the high death toll, which included dozens of civilians, made it difficult for him to continue the talks.

Fighting escalated sharply last week after Israel mounted an onslaught in northern Gaza to retaliate for Palestinian rocket fire that reached closer to Israel’s heartland than ever before.

Israel pulled out its ground forces yesterday, but has continued the air assaults against persistent Palestinian attacks.

Today militants hit a house in the town of Sderot, causing no injuries but extensive damage. Another landed in an open area.

In retaliation, Israeli forces launched several air and ground strikes on rocket squads and Hamas installations, killing one militant and wounding another.The body of a

The violence transformed Ms Rice’s scheduled mission from nudging the sides toward progress in peace talks to rescuing the US-sponsored negotiations from collapse.

Ms Rice called for the resumption of peace talks “as soon as possible,” saying they were necessary to counter Hamas’ influence.

“There has to be an active peace process that can withstand the efforts of rejectionists to keep peace from being made, the people who are firing rockets do not want peace,” she said.

Ms Rice backed Israel’s right to respond to the rocket fire, but said it must avoid civilian casualties.

“The rocket attacks against innocent Israelis in their cities need to stop. This can’t go on. No Israeli government can tolerate that,” she said. But the Israelis “need to be aware of the effects of these operations on innocent people.”

The Gaza bloodshed has illustrated the huge challenges facing the U.S.-sponsored peace push. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Mr Abbas have set a December target for a peace agreement. But with Hamas firmly in control of Gaza, it remains unclear how any deal can be carried out.