Local Editor
Tel Avivi named “missing” soldier as s Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, 23.
For its part, Al-Qassam Brigades declared that its fighters carried out a qualitative infiltration operation, targeting a house where Israeli Special Forces were positioning.
In a statement released by Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades announced “We have carried out an infiltration operation behind the lines of the occupation forces who were penetrating in eastern Rafah at around 6:30 (3:30 GMT).”
“Our group fired at the house which the IOF have stationed in. Immediately after, occupation forces struck the area before withdrawing its vehicles,” the statement added.
The latest deaths bring the Israeli toll to 63, the overwhelming majority of them are soldiers who took part in the deadly ground assault on Gaza.
Source: Agencies
| 01-08-2014 - 16:01 Last updated 01-08-2014 - 16:17 |
Updated at 2:39 pm (GMT+3): The Israeli army said one of its soldiers had been captured in Gaza on Friday, officially ending a ceasefire which had already been shattered mere hours after it had begun.
In response to a question from journalists about whether the truce had ended, army spokesman Peter Lerner said: "Yes. We are continuing our activities on the ground."
"Our initial indications suggest a soldier has been abducted by terrorists in an incident where terrorists breached the ceasefire."
Egypt told Palestinian officials Friday it is delaying ceasefire talks in Cairo after Israel said fighters captured one of its soldiers in Gaza, a senior Islamic Jihad official said.
"The Egyptians contacted the Islamic Jihad and said Israel told them that a soldier has been captured," the group's deputy leader Ziad al-Nakhale told AFP. "The talks have postponed."
Deadly Rafah strikes as ceasefire shattered
Only two hours into a supposed 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Gaza fighters went into effect Friday, the truce collapsed, Israeli and Palestinian sources reported.
A Reuters photographer and the Gaza Interior Ministry said Israeli tanks opened fire in the southern Rafah area some two hours after the truce began.
It remained unclear whether the Israeli soldier was captured before the beginning of the ceasefire, or during the assault on Rafah.
At around the same time, Israeli media said that sirens could be heard in some Israeli towns, with Haaretz reporting that two mortar shells were fired from Gaza. There were no reports of casualties.
AFP correspondents said the artillery barrage of the southern city of Rafah was ongoing, preventing medics from recovering the dead and wounded.
The intensive shelling killed at least 35 people and injured 100, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.
When the humanitarian truce began at 8:00 am, the skies over the Gaza Strip fell silent, although in the preceding two hours there was heavy Israeli fire and the sound of outgoing rockets. At least 1,470 Palestinians have been killed in the 25 days of the conflict.
Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that once the ceasefire was under way, Israeli and Palestinian representatives, including from Hamas, would begin more durable truce talks in Cairo, in a move confirmed by Egypt.
But Israeli forces would remain inside Gaza, he added, after the Zionist state vowed it would not accept any ceasefire that did not allow troops to continue destroying tunnels used by Palestinian fighters.
It remained unclear whether Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to villages where Israeli forces were still present during the truce.
Gaza doctor Belal al-Dabour tweeted around 8:00 am:
Ceasefire talks in limbo
Hours earlier, Israeli tank and air fire killed 14 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli army said five of its soldiers died in mortar fire near the border with the Palestinian enclave.
While the ceasefire was accepted by Hamas, the main power in Gaza, in the name of all militant groups, a spokesman for the Islamist movement stressed it was dependent on Israel reciprocating.
"Hamas and all the resistance movements have accepted a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire from 8:00 am Friday which will be respected by all these movements if the other party also observes the ceasefire," said Fawzi Barhum.
A source in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Israel has accepted the US/UN proposal for a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire beginning 8:00 am Friday."
The ceasefire was a joint US-UN initiative and would give civilians "a much needed reprieve," Kerry said in New Delhi.
"This is a respite, a moment of opportunity -- not an end. It's not a solution," he warned, saying Israel would still be allowed to carry out "defensive" operations to destroy tunnels.
"All the people involved in this have strong demands and strong visions on what the future should look like. Israel has to be able to live in peace and security, without terror attacks and rockets and tunnels and sirens going off in the day," Kerry said.
"And Palestinians need to be able to live with the opportunity to educate their children and move freely and share in the rest of the world and lead a life that is different from the one they have long suffered," he added.
UN political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman said it took a massive diplomatic push to achieve the ceasefire.
"The Egyptians played an important role, the Qataris played an essential role in helping bring the parties on board, the Turks were in touch with all sides. This was a collective effort," Feltman told CNN.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond HAD welcomed the halt to firing, the latest and longest of several.
"We should now redouble our efforts and leave no stone unturned, to ensure this is a lasting and durable ceasefire to make way for substantial discussions to resolve the underlying issues on both sides," he said.
The 14 Palestinians who died included before the ceasefire at least two children killed by Israeli tank fire in the southern Gaza Strip early Friday, the emergency services said.
Six of them were killed in an Israeli air strike in the same area.
The toll on the Palestinian side has surpassed 1,480 since the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip began on July 8.
UN figures show about two-thirds of the victims were civilians, drawing sharp criticism from around the world.
Meanwhile the Israeli army said that "five soldiers were killed during operational activity along the border with the Gaza Strip when a mortar was fired at the forces."
Their deaths bring the Israeli military toll to 61, since the beginning of the assault of Gaza.
The broken ceasefire came after the UN Security Council expressed "grave disappointment" that repeated calls for a truce had not been heeded, and demanded there be a series of humanitarian breaks to ease conditions for civilians trapped in the war-torn territory.
Egypt had invited Israel and the Palestinian Authority to send delegates to Cairo for longer-term truce talks. But the discussions were postponed after the ceasefire was broken.
Senior Hamas official Ezzat al-Rishq told AFP more talks were needed on finding a solution to the blockade of the coastal enclave. "More efforts are needed," he said in a telephone interview from Doha, where Hamas's political leadership is based.
"But now the whole world knows Gaza will not accept a siege."
Despite rising international concern over the civilian death toll in Gaza, Washington said it had agreed to restock Israel's dwindling munitions supplies.
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment