Ban Ki-moon calls for a truce. Children killed in Gaza "by mistake"; injured persons in Israel
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has again called for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, as the dead among the Palestinians and the wounded in Israel are increasing. Ban Ki-moon said he will travel to Cairo soon to promote the talks for a possible truce. A raid early this morning destroyed a police station in Hamas. But yesterday was the most violent day of the "Pillar of Defense" operation launched by Israel to stop the missiles from Gaza that are hitting the southern cities. At least nine people were killed in Gaza in the house of the Hamas policeman, Mohammed Dalou. Among them are many children. The Palestinian television aired horrific images of their burned bodies.
Hamas has vowed revenge for the massacre of the Dalou family. The Israeli army spokesman, Yoav Mordechai, explained that the objective of the raid was Yehiya Rabiah, the one responsible for the missile launches, but unfortunately "there were civilian casualties." According to information reported by Haaretz, citing army sources, it was due to a "technical error" that the raids hit a nearby house.
According to representatives of Israel, in the six days of fighting, already 80 Palestinians and three Israelis have died.
The Israeli military says that nearly 150 missiles were launched from Gaza yesterday; 41 of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, while others hit some residential areas. At Ashkalon two people were seriously injured, with 10 moderately or lightly hurt. One missile reached Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his men are ready for a ground attack, after calling up 75,000 reservists. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has warned of a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which could have "serious repercussions". Morsi and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are putting together a dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian representatives to reach a truce. Representatives of the two peoples are in Cairo to investigate the possibility of a cease-fire.
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