A regional minister has been sharply criticized for alleging that Israeli forces targeted children during the offensive in Gaza. Youth Minister Bert Anciaux of the Flemish regional government wrote on his blog that the killing of two babies at a day care center in Dendermonde, Belgium, last week reminded him of children in the Gaza Strip, ´also consciously killed by an aggressor.? Members of the ruling coalition criticized Anciaux during Wednesday's legislative session, with Liberal Annick De Ridder saying he ´should think twice before making such remarks.? The Christian Democrats said they would no longer support Anciaux. In a statement marking Holocaust Day, Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said ´Belgium continues its unwavering support for the existence of the state of Israel. Meanwhile, the exiled leader of the militant Palestinian Hamas group said Wednesday that Israel's conditions for a long-term truce with Hamas were “unacceptable.” Khaled Mashaal said Hamas will not accept that Israel open the border crossings with the Gaza Strip only after Hamas releases an Israeli soldier captured by Gaza militants in June 2006. Mashaal spoke from Doha, Qatar, where he is visiting to thank Qatar for its solidarity with Gaza Palestinian's during Israel's 22-day offensive to rout out Hamas rockets. His remarks were aired on Al-Jazeera satellite television. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier Wednesday that crossings with Gaza ´will only open permanently? after the freeing of Sgt. Gilad Schalit. Mashaal reiterated that Hamas insists thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails be released in return for Schalit. Hamas has resisted any linkage between Schalit and the reopening of crossings. This developed as President Barack Obama's new Mideast envoy on Wednesday sought to boost a 10-day-old Gaza ceasefire that was thrown into turmoil, as Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza smuggling tunnels in retaliation for a Palestinian bombing that killed a soldier. As the Israeli Cabinet met to consider how far to go in its response to Tuesday's bombing, US envoy George Mitchell said it was “critical” that the ceasefire “be extended and consolidated.” “The United States is committed to vigorously pursuing lasting peace and stability in the region,” Mitchell said after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, his first stop. He said his tour less than a week after Obama's inauguration “is clear and tangible evidence to this commitment.” In Jerusalem, Mitchell met with Israeli President Shimon Peres ahead of talks later Wednesday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and top security officials in Jerusalem. Mitchell was then heading to the West Bank to meet with pro-Western Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But the new violence cast a shadow over Mitchell's mission. The flare-up is the worst since Israel and Hamas separately declared ceasefires on Jan. 18 to end a three-week Israeli offensive against the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip. Since withdrawing its troops, Israel has threatened to retaliate hard for any violations of the informal truce.Reflecting the seriousness of the situation, Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled a planned trip to Washington this week.
