Gaza: as airstrikes and rocket attack resume, Netanyahu "ready for a long operation"
Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Despite pressure from the United Nations, the United States and world leaders like Pope Francis, hopes fuelled by yesterday's brief respite are quickly dying.
According to the Red Crescent, the Palestinian death toll stands at 1,113. Israel's military losses number 50, one or more of whom died after Hamas launched an attack from one of the tunnels that are Israel's priority target. So far, 30 tunnels have been destroyed.
"The operation against the tunnels is the first and an imperative step in demilitarising Gaza," Netanyahu said in a televised address late yesterday. "We must be ready for a long operation."
The resumption of rocket attacks by Hamas - which so far has fired 2,500 - and Israeli airstrikes, in addition to causing deaths and injuries have also pushed, UNRWA said, more than 167,000 Palestinians to seek shelter in agency schools and other buildings, following evacuation warnings Israel dropped before their strikes and shelling.
For its part, the Israeli army continues to deny responsibility for the deaths at a hospital and in the Shati refugee camp, which it blames on Hamas, noting that 200 missiles fired at Israel had fallen short and landed inside Gaza in the past three weeks.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said the war shows the need to "lift the siege of eight years," referring to the economic embargo. He also said that to stop the bloodshed "we need to look at the underlying causes. We need to look at the occupation" of Palestinian land by Israel.
Similar statements came from one of Hamas' few supporters. In a speech marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, Khamenei said, "This rabid dog [i.e. Israel], this rapacious wolf, has attacked innocent people and humanity must show a reaction. This is genocide, a catastrophe of historical scale."
Still, even though the situation in Gaza is likely to worsen - this morning the city's only power was hit - diplomatic efforts continue.
In a statement released by the press office of French President François Hollande, the leaders of the United States, Germany, England, Italy and France "agreed to redouble their efforts to achieve a cease-fire. The pressure must increase to achieve that goal."
Meanwhile, a delegation comprised of various Palestinian factions reportedly arrived Tuesday in Cairo for talks on an Egyptian cease-fire initiative proposed two weeks ago, Al-Arabiya reported.
The delegation would include representatives of the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
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