The head of the UN and the US secretary of state headed to Cairo yesterday for the highest-level attempt yet to end two weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting that has killed at least 510 Palestinians and 20 Israelis, and driven tens of thousands of Gaza residents from their homes.
Despite the new ceasefire efforts by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli aircraft continued to strike homes in Gaza, while Hamas fired more rockets and tried to infiltrate Israel.
In one Israeli strike, 25 people were buried under the rubble of a home in the southern town of Khan Younis, including 24 from the same family.
Photo: AFP
“Twenty-five people!” family member Sabri Abu Jamea said. “Doesn’t this indicate that Israel is ruthless? Are we the liars? The evidence is here in the morgue refrigerators. The evidence is in the refrigerators.”
Meanwhile, Hamas militants reportedly tried to sneak into Israel through two tunnels, the latest in a series of such attempts. The Israeli military said 10 infiltrators were killed after being detected and targeted by Israeli aircraft.
Hamas also fired 50 more rockets at Israel, including two at Tel Aviv, causing no injuries or damage.
Photo: AFP
Despite the rising death toll, there was no sign of a letup in the violence.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon yesterday said he is prepared to continue the offensive “as long as necessary” to halt rocket fire and other attacks from Gaza on Israelis.
Hamas says that before halting fire, it wants guarantees that Israel and Egypt will significantly ease a seven-year border blockade of Gaza.
“The resistance [Hamas] will not respond to any pressure,’’ Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a text message, in a reference to the renewed ceasefire efforts.
Kerry is also pushing for an unconditional ceasefire.
Sunday marked the single deadliest day in Gaza since the conflict erupted on July 8, with more than 100 Palestinians killed, Palestinian health officials said.
In response to the escalation, the UN Security Council expressed “serious concern” about the rising civilian death toll and demanded an immediate end to the fighting.
Early yesterday, an Israeli airstrike hit the home of the Siyam family in southern Gaza, near the town of Rafah, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said.
The strike killed 10 people, including four young children and a nine-month-old baby girl, Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra said.
On Sunday evening, Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri in Gaza claimed his group had captured an Israeli soldier, but there was no official confirmation or denial of the claim in Israel.
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