World News
Hamas-declared ceasefire in Gaza stalls as conflict continues─── 05:30 Mon, 28 Jul 2014
Gaza - A 24-hour ceasefire announced by Hamas in Gaza appears to be stalling, with both Palestinian militants and Israel continuing their offensives.
Hamas fired more rockets into Israel, accusing it of failing to abide by the ceasefire.
Israel rejected the truce, PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying: "Israel will do what it must do to defend its people".
More than 1,030 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 43 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed.
A Thai national in Israel has also died. The Gaza health ministry on Sunday revised the number of dead down by 30 after some relatives found missing family members.
The latest developments further undermined hopes that Saturday's humanitarian truce observed by both sides could be extended, although Israeli TV reported on Sunday that an "understanding on holding fire" had been reached between Israel and Hamas, whereby "quiet will be met with quiet".
However, President Barack Obama phoned Mr Netanyahu on Sunday to urge "an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now".
He added that a long-term solution would have to allow "Palestinians in Gaza to lead normal lives" and "must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarisation of Gaza".
A 12-hour pause on Saturday enabled Gaza residents to gather supplies and retrieve bodies buried under the rubble.
Israel later accepted a UN-requested 24-hour ceasefire until the end of Sunday, although it said ground forces would continue to destroy tunnels used by Hamas.
However, the Israeli military announced on Sunday morning it had decided to resume its air, ground and naval raids on Gaza in response to "incessant rocket fire" from Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since seizing power there in 2007.
Shortly after Israeli raids resumed, Hamas said it had decided to agree to a humanitarian truce, starting at 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
BBC News
Hamas fired more rockets into Israel, accusing it of failing to abide by the ceasefire.
Israel rejected the truce, PM Benjamin Netanyahu saying: "Israel will do what it must do to defend its people".
More than 1,030 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 43 Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians have been killed.
A Thai national in Israel has also died. The Gaza health ministry on Sunday revised the number of dead down by 30 after some relatives found missing family members.
The latest developments further undermined hopes that Saturday's humanitarian truce observed by both sides could be extended, although Israeli TV reported on Sunday that an "understanding on holding fire" had been reached between Israel and Hamas, whereby "quiet will be met with quiet".
However, President Barack Obama phoned Mr Netanyahu on Sunday to urge "an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now".
He added that a long-term solution would have to allow "Palestinians in Gaza to lead normal lives" and "must ensure the disarmament of terrorist groups and the demilitarisation of Gaza".
A 12-hour pause on Saturday enabled Gaza residents to gather supplies and retrieve bodies buried under the rubble.
Israel later accepted a UN-requested 24-hour ceasefire until the end of Sunday, although it said ground forces would continue to destroy tunnels used by Hamas.
However, the Israeli military announced on Sunday morning it had decided to resume its air, ground and naval raids on Gaza in response to "incessant rocket fire" from Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since seizing power there in 2007.
Shortly after Israeli raids resumed, Hamas said it had decided to agree to a humanitarian truce, starting at 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
BBC News
