Gaza violence soars

GAZA CITY: Bloodshed in and around Gaza has surged with strikes killing 26 Palestinians, including at least four children, as Israel announced the deaths of five more soldiers, shattering hopes for an end to three weeks of violence.

It was a bloody start to the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr which began on Monday, with international demands for an end to the fighting falling on increasingly deaf ears. “In the name of humanity, the violence must stop,” pleaded UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon after holding long talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to heed international calls for a ceasefire. But Netanyahu appeared determined to press the offensive.

“We must be prepared for a lengthy campaign,” he said in a live broadcast on Monday.

“We will not end this operation without neutralising the tunnels whose sole purpose is killing our citizens.”

As he spoke, the military sent messages to thousands of Palestinians in Shejaiya, Zeitun, Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanun, urging them to flee their homes and seek shelter in central Gaza City as troops prepared to step up their 21-day campaign.

Shortly afterwards, the cloudy skies over Gaza lit up with flashes as the army began an intensive wave of air strikes and heavy shelling across the strip that continued early on Tuesday and left 26 Palestinians dead, AFP correspondents and medics said.

Israeli warplanes hit the house of Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, inside Shati refugee camp, his son said on Tuesday.

“The Israeli enemy struck our house twice,” Abed Salam Haniya said in a statement. No one was hurt in the attack. Also early on Tuesday, eight rockets were fired at Israel, with two hitting the ground near Rishon LeZion, 10 kilometres south of Tel Aviv.

The attacks were claimed by militants from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.

-AAP