While the Israeli attacks have killed some militants, around 70 per cent of the fatalities were civilians, according to the United Nations. Of the dead, more than 30 are children, the UN reported.
Israel has massed thousands of troops on the border with Gaza amid warnings it is prepared to launch a ground invasion. Israeli commandos carried out their first reported ground incursion yesterday, attacking a suspected rocket launch site. Israel has so far shrugged off international calls for a cease-fire, saying it will continue the offensive as long as the militant group Hamas keeps firing rockets into its territory.
Defending Israel's actions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We're sorry for any accidental civilian deaths but it's the Hamas that bears complete responsibility for such civilian casualties.”
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said all options are on the table and warned against a temporary fix to the sitution.
Israel said its forces have struck 1,470 “terror targets” across Gaza, including 770 concealed rocket launchers. International efforts are on to press Israel and Hamas into negotiating a ceasefire.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will hold meetings in the region in the coming days to find out a solution to the crisis.
The UN Security Council has called for a ceasefire and renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has asked Israel to scrap plans for the ground offensive, saying “too many” Palestinian civilians have lost their lives.
The current wave of violence followed the killing of three Israeli teenagers in June and the suspected revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli officials today said three arrested Israeli Jews had now confessed to the murder of the Palestinian, Mohammed Abu Khdair.
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