Hamas marks one year since Israel's Gaza offensive

The commemorations kicked off with a one-minute siren, which wailed across the Gaza Strip while people froze in silent attention, and mosques in the enclave, controlled by Hamas, broadcast verses from the Koran.
Ahmed Bahar, deputy speaker of the Hamas-dominated parliament, unveiled a memorial to the Palestinians killed in the fighting - some 1,400, according to Gaza human rights groups.
He said Israel had failed to achieve its goals in the offensive, which he said was meant to topple Hamas' rule in the Gaza Strip, end the rocket fire on southern Israel from the Strip, and free Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier snatched during a June 25, 2006 cross- border raid and held in Gaza ever since.
In Gaza City, hundreds of children aged between 6 and 12 years old marched through the main street of the city and headed towards the square of the Unknown Soldier in the city centre.
The missile fire from the enclave has decreased dramatically since the offensive ended on January 18, but according to Israeli intelligence Hamas has test-fired at least two advanced, long-range missiles capable of hitting Israeli population centres previously out of range of the projectiles in the militants' arsenals, Kazinform cites Trend News. See www.en.trend.az for full version.