The death toll in the 17-day long fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has gone up to 800. Gaza emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told that Israeli shell fire on a house in Khan Younis in Gaza, killed one person today bringing the total death toll to 800 since the Israel launched its offensive to stamp out Gaza rocket fire 17 days ago.
According to estimates by local NGOs around 80 percent of casualties have been the civilians in Gaza, including a large number of women and children. On the other hand, projectiles fired from Gaza into Israel killed three civilians including two Israelis and a Thai migrant worker while the fighting in and around Gaza has killed 32 Israeli soldiers so far.
15 Palestinians were killed and over 200 were injured yesterday when a UN run school in Beit Hanoun used as a shelter in Gaza came under Israeli fire. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said he was appalled by the attack on the school in northern Gaza. In a statement he has appealed to all sides to put an immediate end to the violence and reach out to those in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
UN Humanitarian agency chief Valerie Amos has warned that conditions for civilians taking shelter at UN facilities were deteriorating amid shortages of food and water. Amos called for an urgent ceasefire to get the injured to hospital and open supply lines for those in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he regretted each Palestinian civilian death, but held Hamas responsible for the casualties. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said there could be no ceasefire to ease the conflict in Gaza without an end to Israel’s economic blockade of Gaza.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to broker a peace by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and the Norwegian foreign minister, Borge Brende.
John Kerry who is in Cairo, spoke to his counterparts in Qatar and Turkey as he pressed for a Gaza ceasefire. He also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
