Shelling hits UN school in Gaza
July 30, 2014
The health ministry in Gaza on Wednesday morning said that at least 20 people were killed and more than 50 injured when Israeli tanks shelled a school. Emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said the school in Jabalia refugee camp was being used as an emergency shelter.
"The death toll since the July 8 start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has already reached 1,262 with more than 7,000 injured. Two-thirds of them are civilians, including women and children," al-Kidra said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was looking into the incident.
Other attacks were reported overnight in Khan Yunis, Rafa and elsewhere in Jabalia.
Israel said it launched the offensive in response to rockets fired out of Gaza by Hamas militants and their allies. Fifty-three Israeli soldiers, two civilians and a Thai national have died since the airstrikes began in July.
The deaths of 10 Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers on Monday prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn of a long conflict ahead. Yet ceasefire talks continue in Cairo. The US-backed administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank said it approved the latest short-term truce suggestion, but Hamas disputed this and spoke instead of "intensive, ongoing contacts."
The leader of Hamas's armed wing, Mohamed Deif, issued a recorded message on television saying Hamas would only accept a truce if the blockade of Gaza were lifted.
"The occupying entity will not enjoy security unless our people live in freedom and dignity," Deif said. "There will be no ceasefire before the [Israeli] aggression is stopped and the blockade is lifted. We will not accept interim solutions."
Egypt, which also borders Gaza, supports the Israeli blockade.
On Tuesday, airstrikes in Gaza severely damaged the coastal enclave's main power station, causing damage that could take months to repair.
msh/dr (AFP, dpa, Reuters)