Israel, Palestinians begin indirect Gaza talks

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat (L) talks with Arab League Chief Nabil el-Araby during their meeting at the Arab League in Cairo August 11, 2014. (Reuters)

Israel and the Palestinians began talks in Cairo on Monday to try and end the conflict in #Gaza and lift the blockade on the coastal enclave, Egypt's state news agency #MENA said.

The indirect talks are being mediated by Egypt and began a day after the two sides agreed to begin a new 72-hour truce.

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Monday during a raid on his house near the city of Nablus, local medical officials said, according to Reuters news agency.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was aware of troop activity in the area but initially had no further details.

Zakaria al-Aqra, 23, was wanted by Israel and had been shot dead, local witnesses said. Six other people were wounded.

Part of Aqra's house was destroyed by an army bulldozer, they said.

Aqra is the third Palestinian to be killed in Israeli-Palestinian clashes in the West Bank in four days.

Meanwhile, four Palestinians who were seriously wounded during Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip arrived in Turkey for treatment in Ankara hospitals, with more expected to come, state media and officials said Monday.

Three women and a teenage boy were flown out of Tel Aviv on a Turkish air ambulance and were received at Ankara airport by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu early Monday, the Anatolia news agency said.

"In the first stage, we plan to bring to Turkey around 200 patients for treatment," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the Anatolia.

"We are doing whatever we can to take in as many patients as possible," he later wrote on Twitter, where he shared pictures of himself and his wife talking to the wounded Palestinians.

Cairo talks

Meanwhile, Israel and the Palestinians began talks in Cairo to try and end the conflict in Gaza and lift the blockade on the coastal enclave, Egypt's state news agency MENA said.

On Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the news of a fresh 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, urging the two sides to work towards a longer-term truce, Agence France-Presse reported.

The latest ceasefire began at 12:01 am on Monday (2101 GMT Sunday), after days of frantic mediation in Cairo to halt the violence that has killed 1,939 Palestinians and 67 people on the Israeli side since July 8.

Ban “expresses his strong hope that this will give the two sides, under Egyptian auspices, another chance to agree on a durable ceasefire for the benefit of all civilian populations and as a starting point to address the underlying grievances on both sides,” a statement from his spokesman said.

The U.N. chief “continues to urge all concerned to work constructively to this end and avoid any steps which would lead to a return to violence.”

“The United Nations stands ready to assist in the implementation of an agreement that would consolidate peace and allow for much needed reconstruction and development of Gaza,” the statement added.

Egypt, which has acted as a mediator in the conflict, has urged Israel and the Palestinians to use the new truce to “reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire,” after an earlier three-day truce ended Friday.

Between the two ceasefires, warplanes hit more than 170 targets, killing at least 19 people, while the Palestinians fired at least 136 rockets at Israel, of which 93 hit and 13 were shot down, with the rest falling short inside Gaza, the army said.

The U.N. named on Monday three experts on international law on an international commission of inquiry into possible human rights violations and war crimes committed by both sides during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. Al Arabiya

Arms sales set to rocket after showcase during Gaza conflict

Iron Dome may have been the star performer during Operation Protective Edge, but the big international sellers may be the Tamuz missile and the Windbreaker system.

An Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept a rocket from the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 9, 2014. Photo by AP

The links between Israel’s three largest defense contractors – Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems – and the Israel Defense Forces are very tight. The IDF needs the defense industries to develop weapons systems on its behalf, but since the IDF is a small army in international terms and the defense contractors need to make a profit and stand on their own two feet (even if they are government owned), they need to sell in the large international defense markets – where the products are scrutinized partly on the uses the IDF makes of them on the battlefield.

The more the contractors sell overseas, the cheaper they can sell to the IDF – and this is one of the defense establishment’s main goals in encouraging weapons exports. Estimates say that 80% of Israel’s defense production is for export, and the rest is bought by the IDF and other local security forces.

There is real competition between the Israeli defense contractors, just as in any other business where the companies want to expand and make money, although both Rafael and IAI are government-owned companies. Nonetheless, every few months, the heads of the defense industries meet with the director general of the Defense Ministry, Dan Harel, in what is termed the “forum of the five.”

“One of the main goals of the forum is to prevent bloody competition overseas,” says veteran military correspondent Amir Rapaport, the editor of Israel Defense, which covers the local defense industry. “There are quite a few cases in which the industries compete with each other until they cause heavy damage. The defense establishment, which is interested in defense exports, tries to encourage use of the forum for planning and regulation within the reality of competition,” he says.

The link between the IDF and the defense industry is also very personal. Most of those in the weapons industry in Israel are former senior military officers, who have appeared quite frequently over the past month during the fighting in Gaza as commentators on television and radio – for example, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (res.) Dan Halutz. Many of the senior executives in the defense industries still hold senior positions in the reserves, i.e., Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Ben Reuven is deputy head of the Northern Command in the reserves, and was recently appointed head of the ground division at IAI.

“The connection between the army and the industry is a very, very tight loop. It is possible to see it as problematic when senior [executives] in the defense industries fill senior positions in the reserves, but everyone says they keep their position in the company and the military position separate,” says Rapaport.

But there are those who see the problem differently. “It is problematic that companies which the Defense Ministry oversees sit with the regulator for a meeting in which they also make decisions concerning purchasing,” one strategic adviser in the industry observes. “Problematic things can happen in such an situation; there is an inherent conflict of interests.”

Sometimes, though, these connections can result in cooperation. “One of the systems that was used in Protective Edge was developed by one of the defense companies as a result of a need raised by a reserve officer who participated in [Operation] Cast Lead,” says Rapaport. The officer convinced people in his company to invest in developing the system, and the product went operational during Protective Edge, Rapaport adds.

Peaceful times? Sales plummet

Since 2000, when the second intifada broke out, Israel has had some form of military operation lasting a few weeks every few years: Defensive Shield (in the West Bank) in 2002; the Second Lebanon War in 2006; Cast Lead in 2008-09; and Pillar of Defense in 2012. In almost every case, new military technology or weapons were used – which had a positive effect on overseas sales.

The numbers show that, after the initial period of criticism against Israel after the various operations quiet down, sales pick up. And there has been continuous growth in defense exports in recent years. In 2002, such exports were worth $2 billion, grew to $3.4 billion in 2006, and were $6 billion in 2012. In 2013, the three largest defense contractors all showed increases in sales: Elbit had annual revenues of $3 billion; IAI $2.65 billion; and Rafael $2 billion. At 15%, Rafael’s sales showed the highest growth rate.

The local defense industries provide jobs – directly and indirectly – for some 150,000 people in Israel. About 1,000 firms are registered with the Defense Ministry as arms suppliers, and 680 have export licenses. Some 320 marketers around the world are registered with the ministry, people who are located overseas and sell the wares supplied by Israeli defense firms.

The ministry refuses to reveal the overall figures on Israeli arms exports, but some of the data was revealed last year after a human-rights activist filed a suit here. It transpired that $3.83 billion-worth of deals were signed in 2012 with Asian countries; $1.73 billion with European nations; $1.1 billion with Canada and the United States; $604 million with Latin America; and $107 million in Africa.

Israel admitted to sales with only five countries – the United States, Spain, Britain, South Korea and Kenya – but Haaretz has found there were deals with at least 33 more countries, including many in the Third World.

While Israel is not going to war to improve the sales of weapons to foreign countries, it is clear that prolonged periods of peace negatively affect sales. One example is the case of Plasan from Kibbutz Sasa in northern Israel, which made plenty of money from selling protective armor for vehicles to American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In recent years, though, the business has fallen off and Plasan has had to fire workers as the Americans have left Iraq.

In addition to the weapons manufacturers, there are other Israelis who make their living providing military and security consulting and training services around the globe – and it is fair to assume that these businesses will also enjoy greater demand after Protective Edge.

Dozens of high-ranking officers and officials in the defense establishment provide foreign governments with advice on their military, and often even provide training. One of the areas that could see a big push after the latest campaign is in the area of defense against tunnels.

Iron Dome out, Tamuz in

The present operation turned a number of defense technologies into real stars. The most obvious is the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries, which achieved an impressive 90% interception rate (according to IDF figures and U.S. observers). The biggest beneficiary of this success will be Rafael, the main contractor and manufacturer of Iron Dome, which was supported with almost $1 billion of U.S. military aid to finance the project. Most of the money came after Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, when the system proved itself operationally for the first time.

The general consensus is that it will be almost impossible to export Iron Dome systems, even though the foreign press has had many reports on countries that might be interested in purchasing the system: for example, South Korea (earlier this week), India and Taiwan.

A major partner in the success of Iron Dome is IAI, which manufactures the system’s radar. Two weeks ago, IAI had a successful bond issue on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where it raised almost half a billion shekels at an attractive interest rate of 0.95% over the Bank of Israel level. Senior executives at IAI think one of the reasons for its popularity was the success of Iron Dome.

Other IAI products currently on the battlefield are the Heron unmanned aerial vehicle and the brand new Windbreaker system (also known as Trophy), to protect armored vehicles against anti-tank missiles – at a price of $300,000 per tank. The IDF put Windbreaker into operation sooner than planned because of the Gaza operation, and it performed well. There is also the Green Rock tactical radar system to identify and locate short-range rockets and mortar shells that Iron Dome is unable to intercept.

Not all the successful systems were used defensively. The Tamuz missile – from Rafael’s “Spike” family of missiles – is equipped with a video camera and can hone in on a target, moving or static, at distances of up to 20 to 25 kilometers. Reports say the IDF has used Tamuz some 200 times during Protective Edge. Only three years ago it was considered one of the most secret weapons in the Israeli arsenal, even though it originally went into operation in the 1980s as an anti-tank weapon. As opposed to Iron Dome, there is a very good chance that Tamuz will be exported. Haaretz

As Gaza war resumes, Egypt urges new cease-fire

Palestinians walk under the collapsed minaret of a mosque in Gaza city on August 8, 2014, that was destroyed during the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes pounded targets across Gaza, where two Palestinians were killed and militants fired dozens of rockets into Israel after renewed hostilities ruptured a fledgling three-day truce. (Photo: Mohammed Abed AFP/Getty Images)

As #Israel and #Hamas resumed fighting Friday after a 72-hour cease-fire expired, Egypt called on all sides to return to the negotiating table, saying only "very limited sticking points" remain in reaching agreement on a formal cessation of hostilities.

Hopes that the limited cease-fire might hold collapsed when #Gaza militants fired rockets into Israel only minutes after it expired, injuring two Israelis, police said.

Israel responded with a series of airstrikes, killing at least five Palestinians, including three children, Palestinian officials said.

"The renewed rocket attacks by terrorists at Israel are unacceptable, intolerable and shortsighted," said army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.

The outbreak of new hostilities left the fate of the mediating talks in Egypt uncertain, with the Israeli delegation leaving Cairo Friday morning.

Hamas officials said they were willing to continue negotiations, but an Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Israel would not conduct negotiations under fire and would protect its citizens by all means.

The breakdown was not entirely unexpected, as Hamas had warned it would not extend the cease-fire because Israel had not responded to any of the Palestinian demands.

Chief among them is Hamas' insistence that Israel end its 7-year blockade of Gaza and allow normal trade and traffic into the Mediterranean seaside territory that is home to 1.8 million people. Israel maintains it is willing to consider easing border restrictions but wants Hamas to disarm.

The Egyptian foreign ministry urged an immediate resumption of the cease-fire and a return to negotiations, calling for "maintaining self-restraint, stopping military escalation and not targeting civilians in Gaza."

It also suggested that all sides were close to a deal over Gaza.

The foreign ministry said the two sides should "exploit the opportunity available to resume negotiations on the very limited sticking points that remain in the fastest possible time."

By midday, 33 rockets had been fired from Gaza, with 26 landing in Israel, injuring two people. Three were intercepted and four fell short in Gaza, the Israeli army said.

Some 40,000 Gazan homes have been damaged or destroyed during the latest fighting that has displaced nearly half a million Palestinians and killed nearly 1,900 — more than 400 of them children, according to Gaza's Public Works Ministry and Health Ministry.

Israel's military says more than 60 of its soldiers, as well as a few civilians, have been killed in the fighting. USA Today

Gaza truce ends as rockets resume

Protesters in Madrid light candles during a demonstration against the Israeli army's bombings in the Gaza Strip. Photo is from Aug. 7(Photo: AP)

A 72-hour cease-fire between #Israel and Hamas expired Friday with no apparent sign of a breakthrough in indirect talks in #Cairo.

Just before the end of the truce, Gaza militants fired two rockets at Israel, Israel's military said. More rockets were fired after the expiration of the truce.

In a short statement on Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces said the rockets struck southern Israel and added, "Terrorists have violated the cease-fire.''

Earlier, Hamas told the Associated Press the group would not extend the cease-fire because Israel had not responded to any of the Palestinian demands.

Israel maintains it's willing to consider easing border restrictions but wants Hamas to disarm.

It was not immediately clear if the negotiations underway in Cairo would continue.

Some 40,000 Gazan homes have been damaged or destroyed during the month-long conflict with Israel that has displaced nearly half a million Palestinians and killed nearly 1,900 — more than 400 of them children, according to Gaza's Public Works Ministry and Health Ministry.

Israel's military says more than 60 of its soldiers, as well as a few civilians, have been killed in the fighting. USA Today

Only hope can extract Jews and Palestinians from the destruction of despair

Israel’s war with Gaza coincided with the anniversary of the destruction of the Holy Temple, Judaism’s most sacred shrine. What the rabbis did in the wake of that historical crisis teaches us how we can cope with the current one.

A photo taken on July 12, 2014 of a home destroyed in Be'er Sheva the previous evening. Photo by Eliyahu Hershkovitz

Widespread despair. If nothing else, that has been one result of the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas. After all, there have been two seemingly identical wars in the past six years. This cycle of hostility has begun to feel inevitable and unbreakable. Beyond that, the unrelenting conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has made many feel there may never be a just peace between them, that our fate may be perpetual war with - when we are lucky - brief interludes of quiet.

But more than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict breeds despair, despair perpetuates and deepens the conflict. As Peter Beinart recently wrote, “Hamas’ great ally is despair. It grows stronger when Palestinians decide that settlement growth has made the two-state solution impossible. It gains strength when Palestinians decide that leaders like (Mahmoud) Abbas and Salam Fayyad are fools.” Similarly, the Israeli belief that security can only be accomplished through military action, as opposed to diplomacy, often seems to wax when we feel convinced that there is no Palestinian partner for peace, or that Palestinian aggression is inevitable.

The only antidote to this destruction of despair is hope. Only through hope, the belief that peace is possible despite the pervasive and stubborn nature of this conflict, can both sides remain committed to doing what is necessary to pursue it.

Since ancient times, the Jewish tradition has intuited and institutionalized hope’s transformative power.

Take, for example, the Tisha B’Av season, which we began commemorating a few weeks ago with the Fast of the 17th of Tamuz, and which will culminate this weekend with “Shabbat Nahamu,” the Sabbath of Comfort. Incidentally, this year these somber weeks have coincided with the news of war in Israel, which itself evokes the history we are commemorating.

Nearly two millennia ago, at this time of year, the Jewish community in the land of Israel experienced an almost devastating calamity: Roman forces demolished the Holy Temple, Judaism’s most sacred shrine, raising questions about whether Judaism had a future. Moreover, they destroyed Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest city and at the time its most populous, killing thousands and turning thousands more into refugees.

It was a dark time, to say the least, for the Jewish people. Given that reality, it is not surprising that the rabbis of the time would have decided to commemorate the destruction with a day of fasting, mourning and somber prayer, Tisha B’Av.

At the same time, however, those rabbis made another religious decision that was shocking, radical and profoundly instructive: They decreed that each and every year, the Sabbath immediately following Tisha B’Av would be known as Shabbat Nahamu, named for the opening words of a passage from chapter 40 of the Book of Isaiah, which the rabbis established as the day’s liturgical centerpiece.

The passage begins, “Comfort, oh comfort My people, says your God!” (Isaiah 40:1), and continues with a prophecy of national and spiritual restoration. The prophet declares that God is personally coming to overturn Israel’s current state of humiliation, destruction and powerlessness, rebuild her to her former glory, and return to her midst: “Every valley will be raised, every hill and mountain will be made low, the rugged ground will become level, and the ridges will become a plain, and the Presence of the Lord will be revealed” (Isaiah 40:4-5).

Biblical scholars believe Isaiah wrote those words after 538 BCE, when the Persian emperor Cyrus I allowed the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple that the Babylonians had destroyed half a century earlier. If they are right, Isaiah’s words were less prophecy than current events. When Isaiah preached about restoration, he wasn’t dreaming some fantastical vision of an unfulfilled future, he was describing the here-and-now: the valleys being raised, the mountains being leveled. The term of Israel’s subjugation was indeed over; the time of its return had begun.

Unlike Isaiah himself, the rabbis of second-century Palestine had no reason to believe Isaiah’s words were true for their situation. Indeed, all the available evidence seemed to lead toward the opposite conclusion: Not only the Jews, but, perhaps, Judaism itself had been defeated. Few could envision a Jewish future without the land of Israel, Jerusalem, or a Temple. Few could see the prospect of rebuilding a vibrant and flourishing Jewish community with a hostile sovereign power in control.

And yet, despite all indications to the contrary, the rabbis deliberately placed Isaiah’s message of comfort immediately after Tisha B’Av. Why? To make a statement about hope. In placing Shabbat Nahamu immediately after Tisha B’Av, they declared that when the world gives you every reason to despair, the Jewish response is to recommit to hope. That fateful decision helped the rabbis enshrine hope as a fundamental Jewish emotional posture. Indeed, hope has remained so central to the Jewish consciousness that Israel’s founders made a song called “The Hope” the Jewish state’s national anthem.

So often, it can feel that there is too much brokenness in our world to repair. War and injustice are ubiquitous around the globe. Without hope, without the belief that our world can and will be better, people will inevitably give up working to improve it. Why would we waste our time and energy laboring on the futile?

But if the essence of Judaism is, as the Bible and rabbinic literature repeatedly avow, to make our world a more compassionate, just, and peaceful place, nothing is more important than hope. Only through hope, only through believing that our world can be repaired despite its prevalent and stubborn brokenness, will we remain committed to doing what is necessary to fix it. “Our hope is not yet lost,” we sing in “Hatikvah.” For the sake of our people and our planet, may it never be. Haaretz

Four Palestinians killed by Israel tank as cease-fire unravels

A mosque is destroyed in Gaza city during the attack of Israel's warcraft on 23 July, 2014 | Mustafa Hassona | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

A three-day Gaza cease-fire that began Friday quickly unraveled, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the truce as four Palestinians were killed in a heavy exchange of fire. Earlier, Israel and Hamas had agreed to halt all aggressive operations and conduct only defensive missions.

Read Also: Three day Gaza Truce Goes Effective Today

But nearly two hours after the cease-fire went into effect, Israeli tanks shelled the eastern part of Rafah, killing at least four people and wounding 15, according to Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Kidra and Gaza police spokesman Ayman Batniji.

Soon after the cease-fire went into force, Gaza's residents took advantage of the truce to return to their homes, many of which had been destroyed in the fighting. Israel's military said five of its soldiers were killed along the Gaza border Thursday night by a mortar round. Israeli police also warned residents to stay away from Israeli communities near the Gaza border during the cease-fire, saying the area remains "a war zone."  AP

72-hour Gaza truce goes into effect

Smoke and flames are seen during Israeli offensive in the east of Gaza City. PHOTO: REUTERS

GAZA CITY: A 72-hour truce agreed by #Israel and #Gaza militants started Friday at 0500 GMT, with diplomats hoping it will pave the way for a longer-term halt to hostilities.

AFP journalists in Gaza said that with the official beginning of the ceasefire the skies over Gaza fell silent, although in the preceeding two hours there was heavy Israeli fire and the sound of outgoing rockets.

Just hours before the ceasefire came into force 14 more Palestinians were reported killed by Israeli tank and air fire in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile the Israeli army said that five of its soldiers died in mortar fire near the Gaza border, underlining the need for a negotiated truce.

Hopes of an end to the bloodshed rose early Friday after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed a three-day ceasefire.

Both sides swiftly confirmed their commitment to a truce, after 25 days of bloody confrontation.
While the proposal was accepted by Hamas, a spokesperson stressed it was dependent on Israel reciprocating.

“Hamas and all the resistance movements have accepted a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire from 8:00am Friday (local time) which will be respected by all these movements if the other party also observes the ceasefire,” Fawzi Barhum said.

“Israel has accepted the US/UN proposal for a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire beginning 8:00am Friday (local time),” a source in the Israeli prime minister’s office said.

Speaking in New Delhi earlier, Kerry said after the ceasefire went into force, Israeli and Palestinian representatives, including from Hamas, would also begin more durable truce talks in Cairo in a move confirmed by Egypt.

But he said Israeli forces would remain inside Gaza.
Earlier Thursday, Israel vowed it would not accept any ceasefire that did not allow troops to continue destroying tunnels used by militants to attack Israel.

The ceasefire was a joint US-UN initiative and will give civilians “a much needed reprieve”, Kerry said.
“This is a respite, a moment of opportunity – not an end. It’s not a solution,” he warned, saying Israel would still be allowed to carry out “defensive” operations to destroy tunnels.

The 14 latest Palestinian victims included a woman and at least two children killed by Israeli tank fire in the southern Gaza Strip early Friday, a spokesperson for the local emergency services said.
Six of them were killed in an Israeli air strike in the same area, the spokesperson said.

Their deaths bring the toll on the Palestinian side to 1,450 since the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip began on July 8.

UN figures show that around two-thirds of the victims were civilians, drawing sharp criticism from around the world.

Meanwhile the Israeli army said in a statement that “5 IDF (army) soldiers were killed during operational activity along the border with the Gaza Strip when a mortar was fired at the forces.”
Their deaths bring the Israeli military toll to 61, since the beginning of “Operation Protective Edge,” the statement added.

The ceasefire announcement came after the UN Security Council expressed “grave disappointment” that repeated calls for a truce had not been heeded, and demanded there be a series of humanitarian breaks to ease conditions for civilians trapped in the war-torn territory.

Egypt has invited Israel and the Palestinian Authority to send delegates to Cairo for truce talks, after the 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza was announced.

“Egypt emphasises the importance of both sides committing to the ceasefire so the negotiations can take place in a favourable atmosphere,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The delegations are expected to start arriving in Cairo later Friday.
Frank Lowenstein, the US Middle East envoy, was also expected to depart on Friday for the Egyptian capital, a State Department official said.

Despite rising international concern over the civilian death toll in Gaza, Washington said it had agreed to restock Israel’s dwindling munitions supplies.

The announcement came as the White House said there was little doubt that Israeli artillery was the source of a “totally indefensible” strike on a UN school in northern Gaza that killed 16 people on Wednesday.

The school was sheltering more than 3,000 Palestinians made homeless by the relentless fighting which on Friday entered its 25th day.

“It does not appear there’s a lot of doubt about whose artillery was involved in this incident,” spokesperson Josh Earnest said.

The Israeli army has suggested the deaths may have been the result of a misfired Palestinian rocket.
The European Union also condemned the hit on the school, saying it was “unacceptable” that those who had been forced out of their homes by the fighting – and at the request of the Israeli army – had been killed.

“These incidents must be investigated with immediate effect,” it said.
With one in seven people of Gaza’s population of 1.8 million people forced to flee their homes due to the intensive fighting, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which is sheltering almost all of them, warned it was stretched to breaking point.

“I believe the population is facing a precipice and appeal to the international community to take the steps necessary to address this extreme situation,” UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krähenbühl told the Security Council.

There was no let-up Thursday in the bloodshed with at least 50 Palestinians killed, another 14 dying from injuries suffered in earlier attacks and a growing number of bodies pulled from under rubble in areas near Khan Yunis, medics said. The Express Tribune

UN calls for immediate ceasefire

The extent of the destruction in Gaza became apparent during ceasefires over the weekend

The UN Security Council has called for an "immediate and unconditional humanitarian #ceasefire" in Gaza.

An emergency session backed a statement calling for a truce over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr "and beyond".

On Sunday #Israel and #Palestinian militants continued their offensives despite a 24-hour ceasefire announced by Hamas.

More than 1,030 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 43 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed.

A Thai national in Israel has also died. The Gaza health ministry on Sunday revised the number of dead down by 30 after some relatives found missing family members.

The UN Security Council endorsed a statement from Rwanda, the current president of the council, calling for a "durable" truce based on an Egyptian initiative - under which a pause in hostilities would lead to substantive talks on the future of Gaza, including the opening of Gaza's border crossings.

The statement also emphasised that "civilian and humanitarian facilities, including those of the UN, must be respected and protected".

It further stressed the need for "immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip".

The Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the statement did not go far enough, saying a formal resolution was needed demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from Gaza.

On Sunday Israel rejected a truce announced by Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying: "Israel will do what it must do to defend its people."

Hamas fired more rockets into Israel, accusing it of failing to abide by the ceasefire.

President Barack Obama also called for an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire in a phone call to Mr Netanyahu on Sunday.

He added that a long-term solution would have to allow "Palestinians in Gaza to lead normal lives" and "must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarisation of Gaza".

Mr Obama may have felt compelled to make the call after some embarrassment to his Secretary of State, John Kerry, in Israel, the BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Washington.

Mr Kerry's ceasefire plan was rejected, and his character was attacked in sections of the Israeli media.

Mr Obama may also feel that after a weekend where brief ceasefires helped expose the full extent of the destruction in parts of Gaza, he had to be seen to be condemning it, our correspondent adds. BBC

Israel, Hamas agree to 12-hour Gaza cease-fire

On Friday, July 25, Israeli guns fire near Israel's border with Gaza, as operation Protective Edge continues. Israel launched a ground operation in Gaza on Thursday, July 17, after a 10-day campaign of airstrikes failed to halt relentless Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities.

(CNN) -- #Israel and #Hamas agreed to a 12-hour cease-fire starting Saturday, temporarily halting more than two weeks of bloodshed that has claimed more than 800 mostly civilian lives.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Secretary of State John Kerry that Israel would agree to the truce, according to a U.S. official traveling with Kerry. And Palestinian parliament member Mustafa Barghouti said Hamas will comply.

"Of course, they will," Barghouti told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" Friday. "Not only Hamas but all Palestinians."

Both Barghouti and the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Hamas was willing to sign on the seven-day ceasefire proposed as well.

A Palestinian man cries after bringing a child to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, on Thursday, July 24. The child was wounded in a strike on a school that was serving as a shelter for families in Gaza. It's unclear who was behind the strike. The Israeli military is "reviewing" the incident, it said, telling CNN that a rocket fired from Gaza could have been responsible.

Kerry said Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was willing to go along with a temporary truce "as a good-faith down payment to move forward."

Early Saturday, Israel Defense Forces warned in a statement that it will respond if militants attack its personnel or fire at Israeli civilians during the cease-fire set to begin at 8 a.m. local time. During the cease-fire, the IDF will continue to carry out operations to "locate and neutralize" tunnels in Gaza, the statement said.

The Israeli Cabinet had earlier rejected a proposed one-week humanitarian cease-fire but Kerry said no final proposal was submitted to Israel for a vote.

"Let's make that clear," Kerry told reporters in Cairo. "There is always mischief from people who oppose certain things, and I consider this one of those mischievous things."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined Kerry in efforts to reach a deal.

He called for a 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire, with the hope that it can be extended to seven days.
"Surely now, the parties must realize it is time for them to act," Ban said.

"My hope is that the 12 hours will be extended, perhaps to 24, and people will draw from that the good will and effort to find a solution," said Kerry, adding that he will travel to Paris on Saturday and continue to push for a deal.

The United States and Egypt were thought Friday to be moving closer to an agreement with Israel and the Palestinians on a one-week truce, starting Sunday.

Kerry met in Egypt with Ban and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.

The Americans are taking the lead on drafting the text in consultation with Egyptians, the sources said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is the main Palestinian party to the agreement and has been the lead in discussions with the United States, Egypt and Israel.

Qatar is the main conduit for talks with Hamas, along with Turkey, and sources said the United States is working with those two countries to try and get Hamas to sign on.

Key details of the plan are still under negotiation, the sources said, including an Israeli proposal for its troops to remain in Gaza during the one-week truce.

The temporary humanitarian cease-fire would be used to get medical supplies into Gaza, and the injured and some of the bodies out.

If that can be achieved, the parties hope they can enter formal negotiations on a more permanent truce that addresses economic, political and security concerns about Gaza, with other nations involved.
"The hope is that this could be used as an opening," another diplomatic source said. CNN

Pressure for Gaza ceasefire ascends after Israel shells UN shelter

A trail of blood is seen in the courtyard of a UN School in the northern Beit Hanun district of the Gaza Strip on July 24, 2014, after it was hit by an Israeli tank shell. (AFP/MARCO LONGARI)

GAZA CITY: There were signs of renewed efforts for a #Gaza ceasefire on Friday (July 25) as the death toll continued to climb after Israel shelled a #UN #shelter killing 15 Palestinians. #Israel's secretive security cabinet was expected to meet later in the day to discuss truce proposals passed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by US Secretary of State John Kerry at a meeting in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Israeli media said.

Those reports came after an Israeli shell slammed into a UN facility sheltering displaced Gazans on Thursday, prompting UN chief Ban Ki-moon to say he was "appalled" at the incident which "underscores the imperative for the killing to stop -- and to stop now".

Fresh Israeli fire early Friday pushed the overall Palestinian death toll in Gaza to over 800, Palestinian emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. He said that an air strike on a house in the southern Gaza town of Deir-el-Balah killed a woman of 26 and another aged 23 who was pregnant, as Israel pressed on with its 18-day campaign to stamp out Gaza rocket fire. The baby was saved, he said.

Two other people wounded earlier in shelling of the southern city of Khan Yunis, died of their injuries, Qudra said, bringing the total number of Gazans killed in the Israeli campaign to 804.

Thursday's strike hit a UN school sheltering some of the 100,000 Palestinians driven from their homes in search of a safe haven after weeks of deadly fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants. The shell crashed down in the middle of the courtyard where people were camped, leaving the ground covered in bloodstains. Gaza's emergency services said at least 15 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.

UN chief Ban said: "Many have been killed -- including women and children, as well as UN staff." Washington said it was "deeply saddened and concerned about the tragic incident", without explicitly blaming its ally Israel for the shelling.

TRUCE EFFORTS 'VERY COMPLICATED'

Kerry, in Cairo trying to negotiate a ceasefire, reached out to Hamas allies Turkey and Qatar on Thursday as he sought to further regional efforts to broker an end to the bloodshed. His efforts are focused on a week-long humanitarian ceasefire, during which intensive negotiations will tackle the blockade of Gaza and other disputes, Western and Palestinian officials, said.

Hamas earlier rejected an Egyptian proposal. Its exiled leader Khaled Meshaal told the BBC in an interview Thursday that a truce must include a guaranteed end to Israel's eight-year blockade on the Gaza Strip. "We want a ceasefire as soon as possible, that's parallel with the lifting of the siege of Gaza," he said.

Most of Thursday's 98 Gaza victims were killed in and around Khuzaa, a flashpoint area east of Khan Yunis which has been the site of intensive fighting since Tuesday. But the biggest single strike was at the school in the north, where the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said it had been trying to coordinate with the army over the evacuation of civilians, without success.

An AFP correspondent saw nine bodies, including that of a year-old baby and his mother at a nearby mortuary. "We've spent much of the day trying to negotiate or to coordinate a window so that civilians, including our staff, could leave," spokesman Chris Gunness said. "That was never granted... and the consequences of that appear to be tragic."

Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner suggested militants firing rockets near the school could have caused the deaths. He also took issue with the claim that Israel had rejected a humanitarian truce around the school, saying it had implemented a four-hour window for evacuations.

CONCERN OVER CIVILIAN TOLL

The Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has said more than 80 per cent of the casualties so far have been civilians, and a quarter of them children, triggering growing international alarm over the civilian body count. "As this campaign goes on and the civilian casualties in Gaza mount, Western public opinion is becoming more and more concerned and less and less sympathetic to Israel," warned British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos expressed deep concern about the mounting civilian casualties, saying it was "almost impossible" for Palestinians to shelter from Israeli air strikes in the densely-populated territory.

Meanwhile, US airlines on Thursday lifted a two-day suspension of flights to Israel, but not all international airlines followed suit, with Germany's Lufthansa and Air France keeping their Tel Aviv flights grounded. The ban was put in place on Tuesday after a rocket hit a house very close to the runways. So far, 32 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the fighting.

In the West Bank, thousands of Palestinians protesting the Gaza toll clashed with Israeli forces outside Jerusalem. One demonstrator was killed and over 150 injured by Israeli fire, five critically, Palestinian medical staff said.

Far-right hawk Reuven Rivlin was sworn in as Israel's 10th president on Thursday, replacing elder statesman Shimon Peres. With the nation in mourning, the inauguration ceremony was scaled down, but Rivlin said it sent a "very clear message to our enemies: you have not overcome us and you will not do so".

- AFP/nd

Two Palestinians Killed In West Bank Protest

#Israeli security forces have shot dead two #Palestinians during a massive protest in the West Bank, according to medical officials.

The victims were among an estimated 10,000 people who clashed with soldiers and border police at a checkpoint in Qalandiya, between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The protest came hours after 15 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a UN school in the city of Beit Hanoun was hit by an artillery shell.

At least 90 people were injured in the checkpoint clashes, with some reports that live fire was being used.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told the AFP news agency soldiers used "riot disposal means" to control the protest.

At least 90 people have been injured in the mass protest

She said: "There are thousands of rioters there. They are rolling burning tyres and throwing Molotov cocktails and fireworks at soldiers and border police.

"The soldiers are responding with riot disposal means."

The Qalandiya violence came ahead of a meeting of Israel's security cabinet to discuss a US-drafted proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli public radio said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "appalled" by the attack on the UN school.

Speaking in Cairo ahead of talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, he said: "I was shocked and appalled by what has happened in Beit Hanoun. It is totally unacceptable."
Sky News

Gaza Families Implored For Evacuation within Battle

Israeli soldiers march during a drill near the Israel and Gaza border, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Israeli airstrikes pummeled a wide range of targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the U.N. chief and the U.S. secretary of state began an intensive effort to end more than two weeks of fighting that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)

GAZA CITY, #Gaza Strip (AP) — Dozens of #Palestinian families trapped by clashes between #Hamas militants and Israeli troops are scrambling to flee a southern Gaza Strip neighborhood as Israel reported that two more of its soldiers have died in the conflict.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says it's trying to evacuate about 250 people from near Khan Younis, which has been under Israeli tank shelling and drones strikes since early Wednesday.

As the fighting near Khan Younis rages, the military says two more soldiers have been killed, raising the military's death toll to 29.

The circumstances of the latest military casualties were not immediately clear. Two Israeli civilians have also died in the 15-day conflict.

The fighting has killed at least 630 Palestinians. AP

Palestinian PM says lift Gaza 'siege' as part of ceasefire

The lifting of the economic blockade of the #Gaza Strip must form part of any ceasefire deal, the #Palestinian prime minister has said.

Speaking during a visit by the UN secretary-general, Rami Hamdallah said it was time for the "siege to stop".

More than 630 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed in the past 15 days of fighting, officials say.

The #Israeli bombardment of Gaza is aimed at stopping rockets being fired into Israel by Palestinian militants.

Both Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry are in the region to try to put an end to the fighting.

They both called for an immediate end to hostilities and for the underlying causes of the conflict to be addressed.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas should be held accountable for rejecting an Egyptian ceasefire proposal.

Hamas says it will not agree to a ceasefire that does not allow for freer movement of goods and people across its borders.

Several major airlines announced that they would suspend flights to Israel after a rocket from Gaza struck near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. Israel has asked the US to review the flight ban.

Ceasefire prerequisites
Mr Hamdallah, the prime minister of the new unity government between Hamas and Fatah, said it was time to end what he said was the cycle of unrelenting suffering for the Palestinians.

"We demand justice for our people, who everyday and since the beginning of the Israeli occupation have been subject to the occupation for 47 years," he said.

"It's time for this aggression to stop and it's time for this siege to stop."

The economic blockade was imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2007 when Hamas took power in Gaza.

The latest Palestinian death toll of 637 was announced by Gaza's health ministry on Wednesday.

Authorities also said that the number of injured had passed 4,000 for the first time since the fighting began.

The majority of Palestinians killed have been civilians, including dozens of children, according to the UN.

The IDF also says it has killed at least 170 militants. Israel says 28 of its soldiers and two Israeli civilians have died over the past two weeks.

Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah said that he wanted "justice for the Palestinian people".

Israeli soldier Jordan Bensimon, originally from France, was buried on Tuesday

Palestinian health officials say more than 600 people have been killed and thousands injured in the last two weeks

UNRWA said more than 118,300 Palestinians have now taken refuge in its shelters. It says 43% of Gaza has been affected by evacuation warnings or declared no-go zones.

One Palestinian was also killed during a protest against Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

Eyewitnesses said that 32-year old Mahmud al-Hamamra was shot from a passing vehicle.

Two Israelis were injured when a rocket fired from Gaza exploded near Ben Gurion airport. BBC News

Bloody Sunday as 100 Gazans, 13 Israeli Soldiers Killed

File Photo - AFP

At least 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed on Sunday with #Hamas claiming it had captured another, as Israel ramped up a major military offensive in #Gaza.

The United Nations Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting on the Gaza situation at 0130 GMT Monday, following a call by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, as regional leaders met in Doha for urgent ceasefire talks.

The Palestinian death toll soared to 438 in the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years, with a spokesman for the enclave's emergency services saying more than a third of the victims were women and children.

The Israeli army said 13 soldiers had been killed inside Gaza on the third day of a major ground operation, raising to 18 the number of soldiers killed since the ground operation began late on Thursday.

It was the largest number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat since the 2006 Lebanon war.

Late Sunday, the armed wing of Hamas claimed it had kidnapped an Israeli soldier, prompting celebrations in the streets of Gaza City and West Bank cities.

"The Israeli soldier Shaul Aaron is in the hands of the Qassam Brigades," a spokesman using the nom-de-guerre Abu Obeida said in a televised address.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said they were investigating the claim.

More than half of Sunday's Palestinian victims were killed in a blistering hours-long Israeli assault on Shejaiya, near Gaza City, which began before dawn and claimed 62 Palestinian lives, with another 250 wounded.

With ambulances unable to reach the area, the International Committee of the Red Cross arranged a brief ceasefire that allowed paramedics to evacuate some of the dead and wounded before hostilities resumed.

- Ban in peace push –


Read Also: Hama Claims they've captured an Israeli Soldier

As the violence raged, Abbas arrived in Qatar to discuss a ceasefire with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, and UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived later to push truce efforts.

"I am calling for an urgent session tonight of the UN Security Council," Abbas said in a speech broadcast on Palestinian TV.

"What the occupation forces did today in Shejaiya is a crime against humanity," he said. "Those who committed it will not go unpunished."

Ban also condemned the "atrocious action" in Shejaiya and urged Israel to "exercise maximum restraint".

"Too many innocent people are dying...(and) living in constant fear," he told a news conference in Doha.

So far, truce efforts have been rejected by Hamas which has pressed on with its own attacks, undaunted by the Israeli bombardment by land, sea and air.

Following a night of terror in Shejaiya, thousands fled for their lives at first light after heavy shelling, an AFP correspondent reported.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA has opened 61 of its schools to shelter more than 81,000 people who have fled their homes.

- Netanyahu blames Hamas –

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed the civilian casualties on Hamas using innocents "as human shields."

He insisted on Sunday that the military campaign had strong international backing.

"We are carrying out a complex, deep, intensive activity inside the Gaza Strip and there is world support for this... very strong support," he said before a security cabinet meeting.

Although Israel said earlier Sunday it was expanding its ground operation to destroy the network of tunnels used by militants to stage cross-border attacks and fire rockets, Netanyahu said troops could end their mission "fairly quickly".

His Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon also suggested it could end within days.

"My assessment is that in another two or three days, the lion's share of the tunnels, from our perspective, will be destroyed," Yaalon said.

But he demanded international action to "demilitarise Gaza", the tiny coastal enclave which is home to 1.7 million Palestinians and is one of the most densely-populated areas on the planet.

Palestinian militants have over the past 12 days fired 1,414 mortars and rockets that hit Israel, with the Iron Dome air defence system intercepting another 377, the army said.

Israel's right to self-defence in the face of rocket fire from Gaza has won repeated US support, but President Barack Obama has expressed concern over the loss of life in a call to Netanyahu.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who is to travel to Cairo to seek an end to the fighting, meanwhile, blamed Hamas for perpetuating the conflict by "stubbornly" refusing all ceasefire efforts.

By its behaviour, Hamas had "invited further actions" by Israel, he said, in remarks which drew an angry response from Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who accused Israel of killing Palestinians "mercilessly".

Thousands participated in rallies in France, Vienna, Stockholm and Amsterdam to oppose Israel's offensive, with a demonstration in the northern Paris suburb of Sarcelles descending into chaos as protesters set fire to bins and looted shops.

See Also: Israel Ramps Up Gaza Offensive After 13 IDF Soldiers Killed

Two Americans Fighting with Israeli Forces Killed in Gaza

Two Americans who volunteered to fight with the Israeli army were among those killed during the current incursion into #Gaza, the State Department said late Sunday.

In a brief statement, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki identified the dead as Max Steinberg and Sean Carmeli. She provided no additional information.

Max Steinberg in an undated photo posted on Facebook.

NBCLosAngeles reported that Steinberg, 24, was a Woodland Hills, California, native who graduated from El Camino High School and attended Pierce College in Los Angeles before joining the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). News of his death was first reported by the Jewish Journal, a Los Angeles newspaper, it said.

The Alegemeiner news website, which says it covers Jewish and Israeli news, said 21-year-old Nissim Sean Carmeli had lived in South Padre Island, Texas, before volunteering for duty in the IDF’s Golani Brigade. It said both Carmeli and Steinberg were killed along with 11 other members of elite unit in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya, considered a Hamas stronghold.

Nissim Sean Carmeli, left, with Rabbi Asher Hecht of Texas in Jerusalem in 2012.

Gaza death toll passes 300

Two flares sent by Israeli army illuminate the eastern part of Gaza City. Photo / AFP

Fresh Israeli air strikes killed 10 people in #Gaza today, hiking the death toll above 300 as UN chief Ban Ki-moon headed to the region to bolster truce efforts.

The new peace push came as Israel's campaign against the besieged Palestinian territory entered day 12 in the bloodiest conflict for several years, and the Jewish state stood poised to intensify a ground operation inside the Strip.

US President Barack Obama has supported Israel's right to defend itself against Gaza rocket fire, but urged it to work harder to avoid innocent deaths in an operation with a high civilian toll, including many women and children.

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Read Also: Hundreds of Kiwis protest Israeli ground invasion of Gaza
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In the face of Israel's land, sea and air offensive, Islamist movement Hamas, which is the main power in Gaza, has remained defiant as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas travelled to Egypt and Turkey for truce talks.

An early morning air strike outside a mosque in the southern city of Khan Yunis killed seven people on Saturday, including a woman, medics said, with other raids shortly afterwards bringing the total death toll to 306 Palestinians and two Israelis.

Israeli army flares illuminate the sky above the Gaza strip. Photo / AFP

The UN said Friday Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would fly to the region Saturday in a bid to end the violence.

Ban would help Israelis and Palestinians "in coordination with regional and international actors, end the violence and find a way forward," under secretary general for political affairs Jeffrey Feltman told emergency talks at the Security Council.

But the two sides' UN ambassadors traded blame for the violence, with Israel's Ron Prosor insisting no other country would "tolerate... terrorist" rocket fire at its citizens.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour read aloud the names of Palestinian dead, including women and children to the Security Council, and at one point appeared close to tears.

Israel's ground incursion, launched on the tenth day of an operation to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza, has killed dozens and forced thousands of people to flee. NZH

Children die playing football, in taxi with grandma, as Israel bombs Gaza for tenth day

The body of one of four children from the Baker family who were killed by Israeli forces while playing on a Gaza City beach is carried during the children’s funeral on 16 July. (Mohammed Asad / APA images)

Eight children and a grandmother were among 23 persons killed in a tenth day of heavy #Israeli bombardment targeting civilians, civilian homes and other infrastructure across the occupied #Gaza Strip.

Wednesday’s carnage brought the toll since Israel began its assault to 220 Palestinians killed and 1,570 injured, the Gaza-based newspaper Filistin reported, citing the health ministry.

The latest deaths bring the number of children killed to at least forty-six.

A Palestinian child wounded in an Israeli strike cries while receiving medical care at a hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on 16 July. (Ezz Al-Zanoon / APA images)

Human Rights Watch said today that Israeli air attacks it investigated “have been targeting apparent civilian structures and killing civilians in violation of the laws of war.”

The group called on Israel to “end unlawful attacks that do not target military objectives and may be intended as collective punishment or broadly to destroy civilian property.”

Almost eighty percent of those killed in the Israeli attacks are civilians, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Children killed on beach

On Wednesday afternoon, in an horrific attack witnessed by international journalists stationed at the Al-Deira Hotel, shelling from an Israeli gunboat killed four children from a single family as they played football on a beach near Gaza’s seaport.

he mother of one of the boys killed by Israeli forces while they were playing on a Gaza City beach reacts to news of her son’s death on 16 July. (Ashraf Amra / APA images)

The four victims were Ahed Atef Baker and Zakaria Ahed Bakr, both ten years old, Muhammad Ramiz Bakr, eleven, and Ismail Muhammad Bakr, aged nine.

Three other children were wounded, one critically.

“He was my only son,” Zakaria’s father, Ahed Baker, told NBC. “He died with his cousins, they all died together.”

“We live by the coast. There was a headline on the news that four children were injured … so we went looking for the kids and we could not find them, so we came here to the hospital to look for them and we found them all, including my son … oh my God,” Baker told NBC.

The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont, witnessed the attack:

The first projectile hit the sea wall of Gaza City’s little harbour a little after four o’clock. As the smoke from the explosion thinned, four figures could be seen running, ragged silhouettes, legs pumping furiously along the wall. Even from a distance of 200 metres, it was obvious that three of them were children.

Jumping off the harbour wall, they turned on to the beach, attempting to cross the short distance to the safety of the Al-Deira hotel, base for many of the journalists covering the Gaza conflict.

They waved and shouted at the watching journalists as they passed a little collection of brightly coloured beach tents, used by bathers in peacetime.

It was there that the second shell hit the beach, those firing apparently adjusting their fire to target the fleeing survivors. As it exploded, journalists standing by the terrace wall shouted: “They are only children.” In the space of 40 seconds, four boys who had been playing hide and seek among the fishermen’s shacks built on the wall were dead.

Killed by a mosque

Four people were killed, including two small children and an elderly woman, and three others injured, when Israeli fire targeted them near the al-Katiba mosque west of Khan Younis.

Health ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, quoted in Filistin, said the dead were four-year-old Yasmin al-Astal, six-year-old Osama al-Astal and seventy-year-old Raqiyya al-Astal.

Family decimated after hospital visit

An Israeli drone fired a missile at a civilian taxi in Bani Suheila west of Khan Yunis on Wednesday morning, killing four people from one family.

Ten-year-old Ibrahim Ramadan Abu Daqqa, his 25-year-old brother Amro Ramadan Abu Daqqa, and their sister, 27-year-old Madeline Abu Daqqa, a pregnant mother of three, died along with their elderly grandmother, Khadra Abu Daqqa.

Palestinians gather around a taxi in which four members of the Abu Daqqa family were killed in an Israeli air strike on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on 16 July. (Ramadan El-Agha / APA images)

Several people were reported injured, including fifty-year-old Ramadan Abu Daqqa, Khadra’s son and the father of the three siblings.

According to a reporter from the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, cited by Quds News, the family had been on their way home from visiting an injured relative at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City when their minivan was attacked.

Palestinian health ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra told local media that six-year-old Hamza Raed Thari died today of injuries from an Israeli air attack in Jabalyia, northern Gaza, which occurred several days ago.

The United Nations reported that as of yesterday, 1,370 homes had been destroyed in Israeli attacks, directly displacing 8,200 people.

Another 18,000 people were being sheltered at UN-run schools, and 600,000 of Gaza’s 1.8 million residents were at risk of losing their water supply. --Electronicintifada

Palestinian-American teen allegedly beaten in Israeli custody returns home

July 16, 2014: Tariq Khdeir addresses the media and supporters at Tampa International Airport after returning from Israel via New York (MyFoxTampaBay.com)

TAMPA, Fla. –  The #Palestinian-American #teenager who relatives allege was beaten by #Israeli authorities returned home to Florida late Wednesday, saying he will never think of freedom in the same way again.

Tariq Abu Khdeir, 15, and his mother flew back to Tampa on a flight arriving from New York and were greeted by about 50 cheering supporters waving American and Palestinian flags. The Khdeirs had flown out of Israel earlier in the day.

"I am only 15 but I will never think of freedom the same as I did two months ago," Tariq said upon arrival at Tampa International Airport.  "No child, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli, deserves to die."

The teenager said the thoughts and prayers of the supporters had helped him, adding "I got through these past two weeks because I knew you were all thinking of me."

Now, he said, he just wanted relaxation and time with friends.  "It feels so good to be back in Tampa. Can I even put it in words? I can't wait to go back to play with my friends and go fishing," he added, speaking only minutes.

Hassan Shibly, the teen's attorney and the executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, had said Monday that Tariq suffered head trauma and had to receive stitches on his face when beaten two weeks ago as he was arrested during a protest. Supporters say Tariq's beating was videotaped. The Israeli justice ministry has said an investigation has been opened into the footage.

There were no immediately apparent signs of injuries to Khdeir on his arrival.

Israeli authorities released Tariq shortly after his arrest and sentenced him to nine days of house arrest while they investigated what they say was his participation in violent protests over the death of Tariq's cousin, 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir. His family denied that he participated in the protests.áPalestinians suspect Mohammed Abu Khdeir was killed by Israeli extremists exacting revenge for the abduction and killings of three Israeli teens in the West Bank last month.á

His mother, Suha Khdeir, said Wednesday in Tampa that the last two weeks had been a "nightmare." She wiped tears from her eyes as she spoke and added she was "grateful" for the support she received at home in the Tampa area.

"I cannot begin to describe to you the pain I felt when I looked at his face for the first time after that beating," she said.

Friends and family have said Tariq went on a vacation to visit relatives he hadn't seen in about 10 years -- not to be part of a conflict. They have described him as a good student who likes basketball, soccer and video games.

Tariq's arrest happened shortly before Israel attacked Gaza to stop Hamas members from launching rockets into its territory. Earlier Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a five-hour U.N. brokered "humanitarian" pause to their 9-day-long battle, offering the most encouraging sign yet that the fierce fighting could come to an end. Israel's bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 200 Palestinians, including four boys struck on a beach Wednesday by shells fired from a navy ship.

The attorney Shibly said Monday that a complaint has been filed with the Israeli government by the teen's father. Fox News

Israel, Hamas accept temporary ceasefire

Palestinians flee their homes to take shelter at the United Nations school in Gaza City, Sunday, July 13, 2014 (photo credit: AP/Hatem Moussa)

AFP — #Israel and #Hamas have agreed to a UN request to halt hostilities for five hours on humanitarian grounds on Thursday, while efforts continue to broker a longer-term truce

The sides announced the temporary lull in fighting across the #Gaza border after an Israeli strike killed four children on a beach in the coastal strip on Wednesday.

A punishing Israeli offensive aimed at halting rocket fire into Israel by Gaza militants had resumed after previous Egyptian-brokered truce efforts collapsed Tuesday.

Israel’s campaign, which entered its 10th day on Thursday, has killed 223 Palestinians so far, with a Gaza-based human rights group saying over 80 percent of them were civilians.

In the same period, militants have fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel. They claimed their first Israeli life on Tuesday.

The army said early on Thursday that 82 rockets had hit Israel during the course of Wednesday and more than 30 were intercepted by Israel’s missile defences.

Hamas had rejected intitial Egyptian efforts for a full ceasefire, saying it had not been included in the discussions.

The Israeli army announced it would halt its bombardment of Gaza between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (0700 to 1200 GMT) Thursday, following a UN request for a humanitarian truce.

Hamas later followed suit.

“The Palestinian factions agreed to accept the offer from the United Nations for a cooling-down on the ground for five hours starting from 10 in the morning,” spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri told AFP.

But in the small hours of Thursday Israeli air strikes continued to shake Gaza and rockets kept flying into Israel, each side said.

Meanwhile, in Cairo, a Hamas official met Egyptian leaders and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived to join the diplomatic efforts.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday backed Egypt’s efforts to broker a ceasefire, offering Washington’s full diplomatic support.

“Over the next 24 hours, we’ll continue to stay in close contact with our friends and parties in the region, and we will use all of our diplomatic resources and relationships to support efforts of closing a deal on a ceasefire.”

Obama said that while he and the world were “heartbroken” by the deaths of civilians in the Gaza Strip, US ally Israel had the “right to defend itself from rocket attacks that terrorize” its population.

In addition to the four children who died on the Gaza seashore, several people were also wounded in an apparent Israeli naval bombardment, medics said.

The first strike scattered terrified children and adults on the beach. A second and third struck as they ran, setting fire to huts on the beach.

The strikes appeared to be the result of shelling by the Israeli navy against an area with small shacks used by fishermen.

Several children ran inside a hotel where at least three had shrapnel injuries.

Several hours after the strikes, the Israeli military described the deaths as “tragic” and said it was investigating the incident.

“Based on preliminary results, the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives,” the military said in a statement.

“The reported civilian casualties from this strike are a tragic outcome.”

‘No safe place’

The Israeli military dropped flyers and sent text messages Wednesday warning 100,000 people in northeastern Gaza to evacuate their homes ahead of an air campaign targeting “terror sites and operatives” in Zeitun and Shejaiya, two flashpoint districts east of Gaza City.

An identical message was sent to Beit Lahiya in the north.

But for patients at Al-Wafa hospital in Shejaiya, the warning simply provoked even more fear.

“There is no place safe in Gaza,” director Basman Alashi told AFP, adding that most of his patients were completely incapacitated.

“If a hospital is not safe, where is?” he said as the sound of nearby shelling rattled the windows.

Hamas dismissed the warning as a scare tactic, telling residents there was “no need to worry.”

Hamas in fresh Cairo talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to step up the military campaign after Hamas dismissed an Egyptian ceasefire proposal, firing scores of rockets over the border despite the army holding its fire for six hours.

“This would have been better resolved diplomatically… but Hamas leaves us no choice but to expand and intensify the campaign against it,” he said.

His security cabinet authorised the call-up of another 8,000 reservists, media reports said, joining 43,000 reserve troops who have already been mobilized.

Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior member of Abbas’s Fatah movement, said a Hamas official was in Cairo to hold talks with Egyptian officials.

Ahmad expressed hope that the talks in Cairo would “crystallize a definite formula for an Egyptian initiative” or clarify its initial plan, which had proposed an end to hostilities from Tuesday.

In a joint news conference with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, visiting Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said she hoped that Hamas would “revise its position and accept the proposal in the coming hours or days.”

Abbas himself later arrived in Cairo to join the diplomatic efforts and was slated to travel to Ankara on Thursday in search of regional support for an immediate end to the fighting.

Also in Cairo, Middle East peace Quartet envoy Tony Blair met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri.

Egypt’s initiative was designed “to allow all the issues that are at the heart of this problem… to be dealt with in a thorough and proper way,” Blair said. The Times of Israel