adminCape Town — As Israel and Hamas agree to a UN-requested truce for humanitarian purposes, one Gaza family is reeling after the deaths of four of their children. On the 10th day of Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” the Palestinian death toll reportedly stands at 226 with 1,678 people wounded.
The brutal killing of four Palestinian boys from Israeli shelling on a beach in Gaza has sparked international outcry, as Israel buried its first victim of the conflict.
The children were all related and playing on the seafront outside a hotel used by foreign journalists.
Al Jazeera correspondent, Stefanie Dekker, tweeted a picture of the strike showing the four boys running across the beach as dust rose from a nearby shell.
Meanwhile, the five-hour humanitarian truce has ended in the Gaza Strip, amid reports that Israel was considering a wider ceasefire proposed by Egypt.
The UN-brokered humanitarian truce ended at 12pm yesterday with two reported infractions — three mortar bombs landed in Israel while Israeli tank fire was reported in Rafah.
The truce ended amid reports that Israel is considering an Egyptian proposal for a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire starting today.
“There is an agreement for a ceasefire beginning tomorrow. I believe it is 6AM,” the official said.
However, the news agency said that only senior officials in Egypt had agreed the deal, and it was still being examined by the Israeli leadership.
There was no immediate word from the Hamas group, which controls the Gaza Strip. Hamas rejected a previous ceasefire offer earlier this week, saying it was never consulted on the terms.
Azza al-Ahmad, a Fatah representative in Cairo, said that there was no agreement and communications were ongoing. Dekker, reporting from Gaza, said the truce would allow some repairs to infrastructure, such as electricity lines.
In a related incident, The Israeli army said it has stopped an attempt by more than a dozen Palestinian fighters to infiltrate southern Israel through tunnels in Gaza, as a temporary humanitarian truce came into effect in the enclave.
An Israeli military statement said the gunmen from Hamas intended to attack Kibbutz Sufa yesterday when they were repelled by an air attack by the Israeli air force.
Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman said: “We will continue to prevent, pursue and counter-strike the actions of the terrorist organisation.”
The Qassam Brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, denied any of its fighters had been killed in the incident.
The attempted attack came amid continued Israeli attack on Gaza in the run up to a temporary truce between Israel and Palestinian fighters to allow humanitarian aid to enter the area.
The army said early yesterday that Israel had conducted 37 raids overnight on Gaza, while seven rockets were fired from Gaza, four of which landed in fields and the rest were intercepted by Israel’s missile defences, AFP news agency reported.
The truce came into effect at 10am. The Israeli military reported three mortar bombs landed in southern Israel after the truce started, while sources said that Israeli tank fire hit Rafah. However, the truce was largely observed.
The Israeli army said it was targeting “Hamas terrorists” and would investigate the incident.
Responding to a question on the killing, the US State Department spokesman said the deaths were of “great concern” but said Hamas had not abided by an alleged ceasefire. “They’re putting their own people at risk by continuing to escalate the situation on the ground,” Jen Psaki said.
Dekker, who was at the scene when the incident happened, said she had seen no evidence of Hamas targets in the area. — Al Jazeera
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