Broker a Gaza cease-fire now

In the densely populated Gaza Strip, Hamas is ensconced in houses, schools and mosques, fighting under cover of civilians. Israel, meanwhile, has bombed extensively, sent in ground forces to cut off Gaza City and taken up positions atop apartment buildings, with residents inside. More than 550 Palestinians have been killed and 2,000 wounded since the Israeli offensive began Dec. 27. At least a quarter of the victims are civilians, many of them children. And most of the 1.5 million Gazans are hunkered down between the two forces, grappling with shortages of water, electricity, cooking gas and other basic supplies. This must stop.

January 6, 2009