Gaza - the facts, by Reuters

Here are the facts about Gaza according to Reuters.

(Reuters) - Israeli tanks and troops have launched a major offensive inside the Gaza Strip to try to stop Palestinian militants firing rockets at the Jewish state and to secure the release of an abducted soldier.

Below are some of the main events so far:

June 25, 2006

* Militants including members of the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement capture Corporal Gilad Shalit in a raid from Gaza. Two soldiers and two attackers die.

June 28

* Troops and tanks enter southern Gaza, taking control of a disused airport. Missile strike knocks out the main power plant.

June 29

* Israel detains dozens of Hamas cabinet ministers and lawmakers in the occupied West Bank.

* Armed factions demand that Israel free 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Shalit. Israel rejects the proposal.

July 4

* Hamas armed wing fires rocket into coastal city of Ashkelon, its deepest missile strike into Israel.

July 6

* Israeli forces seize a swathe of northern Gaza. Israeli forces kill 19 Palestinians in bloodiest day since 2004.

July 8

* Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas calls for ceasefire. Israel says militants must first free Shalit and end rocket attacks.

July 12

* Israeli troops pour into central Gaza Strip. Air raid targeting Hamas militants kills five people, three of them children.

So according to Reuters, one of the world's most trusted news agencies, an Israeli soldier was captured for no apparent reason and every Palestinian killed by Israel since (and even before) then has been because of that one Israeli soldier. I wonder how he'll feel if he ever gets released.