[It may bear recalling that the armed confrontation had, this time,
commenced on June 28, with Hamas firing rockets from Gaza, to be followed
by Israeli airstrikes on the following day.
The 'Operation Protective Edge', indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, was
launched by Israel on July 8.
The first ceasefire proposal was put forward by Egypt on July 14, and the
ceasefire which would commence at 9 AM (local time) on July 15 would
terminate six hours later as the Hamas rejected it.
This is the first time since then that a ceasefire held for about 3 days
(since August 5).
Reportedly, till August 8 morning, 1,867 Palestinians, most of them
civilians, have been killed and so have been 64 of Israeli soldiers and
three civilians since fighting intensified on July 8. All (some 30)
underground tunnels in Gaza and a large stock of Hamas rockets have been
destroyed since the beginning of the ground operations by Israel on July 17.
Till July 15 morning, the day the first ceasefire turned out to be
stillborn, about 100 Gazans had been killed.
The latest update on the tolls is as under.
Palestinian deaths
1,922 killed, including at least 1,407 civilians
448 children
235 women
Israeli deaths
64 soldiers
2 civilians
1 Thai national in Israel
(Source: OCHA; 0500 GMT on 8 August, as cited in the news report reproduced
below.)]
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28715660
9 August 2014 Last updated at 05:24
Gaza conflict: US and UN condemn new Gaza violenceThe BBC's Orla Guerin in
Gaza: "There is tremendous grief and anger at the killing of another child"
The US and United Nations have condemned the resumption of attacks between
Gaza and Israel on Friday, urging both sides to cease hostilities.
Israel renewed strikes on Gaza soon after a three-day truce expired, saying
it was in response to rocket fire by Hamas, which controls Gaza.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the parties should work towards a
"sustainable ceasefire".
The UN said more suffering for civilians was "intolerable".
Hamas says it rejected an extension to the truce because Israel had failed
to meet its demands.
Five people were killed in Gaza on Friday, while two Israelis were injured
by mortars.
More than 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in four
weeks of violence in the Gaza Strip, the UN says
<http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_sitrep_08_08_2014.pdf>.
Sixty-seven people have died on the Israeli side, including three civilians.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said rocket fire continued on Saturday,
with four hitting southern Israel.
Cairo talks
Egypt, which is mediating between Israel and the Palestinians, has called
for both sides to return to the negotiating table.
A three-day truce was broken by both sides on Friday, with several
casualties reported
Israelis sought cover near the Israel-Gaza frontier as Palestinian
militants fired rockets on Friday
Israeli troops fired tear gas at Palestinian protesters in the West Bank on
Friday
"Hamas' decision to resume rocket fire will not only put the people of
Israel and of Gaza at greater risk, it will do nothing to meet the
expectations of the Palestinian people," Mr Earnest said.
The US, he continued, hoped both parties would agree "to an extension of
the ceasefire in the coming hours and ultimately conclude an agreement to
cement a sustainable ceasefire".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the resumption of violence
in the region.
He said in a statement: "More suffering and deaths of civilians caught up
in this conflict is intolerable.
"The Secretary-General urges the parties to swiftly find a way back to
respect of the humanitarian ceasefire and to continue negotiations in Cairo
to reach a durable ceasefire."
A Palestinian delegation met Egyptian mediators in Cairo late on Friday.
However, Israeli officials, who have pulled out of talks, said they would
not "negotiate under fire" referring to the resumption of rocket attacks.
Senior Palestinian official Mustafa Barghouti told the BBC on Friday that
rocket fire into Israel had come from other Palestinian factions, and not
from Hamas.
The resumption of attacks dealt a blow to Egyptian-led mediation efforts
Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted three rockets on
Friday
Both sides suffered casualties on Friday.
A 10-year-old boy was among those killed, when an Israeli missile struck
near a mosque in central Gaza, Palestinian officials said. A member of
Islamic Jihad was also killed in Rafah, they added.
The IDF said it had resumed its offensive with aircraft, tanks and gunboats
on some "70 terror sites in response to continuing rocket fire"
<http://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/497838715985608705>.
Israel said militants began firing missiles from Gaza shortly before the
ceasefire ended at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
By Friday evening, the IDF said more than 40 rockets had been fired from
Gaza into Israel since the truce expired.
The major sticking point in negotiations, Hamas says, is Israel's refusal
to meet its demand of lifting the blockade on Gaza and the freeing of about
100 prisoners released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011
who have been rearrested.
The group also rejected Israel's call for the demilitarisation of Gaza.
However, Hamas said the Palestinian factions were willing to continue the
talks despite the fresh violence.
A father mourns for his 10-year-old son - the first person to be killed
after hostilities resumed on Friday
*Palestinian deaths*
- 1,922 killed, including at least 1,407 civilians
- 448 children
- 235 women
*Israeli deaths*
- 64 soldiers
- 2 civilians
- 1 Thai national in Israel
*(Source: OCHA; 0500 GMT on 8 August)*
Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 8 July with the stated aim of
halting rocket fire from militants in Gaza and destroying the network of
tunnels it said were used by militants to launch attacks inside Israel.
Human rights group Amnesty International has called for an investigation
<http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/mounting-evidence-deliberate-attacks-gaza-health-workers-israeli-army-2014-08-07>
into what it said was mounting evidence that Israeli forces had
deliberately attacked hospitals and health professionals in Gaza. The
attacks have left at least six medics dead.
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Peace Is Doable
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