As number of casualties climbs concern mounts over Gaza invasion
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - There is growing concern about the reported ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, while Palestinian rocket fire by and Israeli bombing continue and the death toll rises: Palestinian sources speak of 95 dead since last Tuesday, when Israel launched Operation Protective Edge to stop the firing of rockets from Gaza. The Israelis report about a dozen injured, one of them seriously.
The Israeli army continues to maintain that their targets are "military": rocket launch sites, arsenals, command centers or homes of Hamas leaders and those who live in the buildings under attack are notified five minutes beforehand.
The system is obviously not working given that yesterday all eight members of a family of Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, were killed in a bombing. The Israeli army claims that the "error" lies in the fact all eight returned to the building that they had previously abandoned following an earlier warning. Cairo has partially opened the Rafah crossing to allow the injured to receive treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
The large number of casualties does not seem to affect the spokespersons of various Palestinian armed organizations in the Gaza Strip who swear they will continue their fight "until the end".
Compounding fears of a further escalation of violence, this morning's news that a rocket was launched from southern Lebanon and fell between Metula and Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, without causing casualties or damage.
There are moves at an international level to stop the escalation of war. Yesterday, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan and various leaders.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel and Palestinian militants to moderation, saying that the Middle East could not afford "another war."
The Russian and French presidents Francois Hollande and Vladimir Putin have called for a ceasefire and U.S. President Barack Obama has "expressed concern" about the risk of further escalation and stressed the need for all parties to do everything possible to protect the civilian lives and restore calm" and declared that "the United States remains prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities, including a return to the November 2012 ceasefire agreement".
At the time Egyptian mediation succeeded in ending the fighting. But while Cairo confirmed it is in touch "with both sides", it should be considered that in 2012, Egypt's president Morsi was a friend of the Muslim Brotherhood - linked to Hamas - which under Al-Sisi is considered a threat. And senior Egyptian officials quoted by Haaretz would say that the conditions for a mediation "are not ripe," adding that already last week Egypt had tried to reach a compromise.
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