Summary Hamas asks for renewal of ceasefire after Gaza assault resumes
GAZA CITY (Dunya News/AFP) – The Hamas movement on Sunday belatedly accepted diplomatic calls for an extension of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza shortly after Israel said it was resuming its devastating military assault.
There was no immediate word on whether Israel would reciprocate, with a Hamas spokesman saying the movement had agreed to halt its fire from 1100 GMT in response to a request from the United Nations.
The move came just hours after Israel said it would no longer abide by a unilateral ceasefire which had been rejected out of hand by Hamas as unacceptable without a full withdrawal of Israeli armour from the war-torn Gaza Strip.
With the situation rapidly changing, there was no immediate indication that either side had halted their fire, with several loud explosions heard in Gaza City, an AFP correspondent said.
The renewed violence came after a rare 12-hour break in the hostilities on Saturday, which was respected by both sides, with world powers urging both Israel and Hamas to extend the temporary truce.
"We all call on parties to extend the humanitarian ceasefire currently in force, by 24 hours that could be renewed," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said at a Paris summit also attended by the top diplomats from the US, Britain, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Turkey and the EU.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon also issued a statement, saying he "urgently appeals once again to all parties to declare a seven-day humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza" where the fighting has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Palestinians and 46 people in Israel.
Pope Francis called on warring parties to put an end to violence which is wounding and killing countless children."Stop, please stop! I beg you with all my heart," the pontiff pleaded in the weekly Angelus prayer.
"I think of the children, who are robbed of the hope of a dignified life, of a future. Dead children, wounded children, mutilated children, orphans, children who, for toys, have the debris of war. Children who do not know how to smile," he said.
On Saturday night, Israel s security cabinet agreed to extend the temporary truce by 24 hours, but Hamas rejected the move, firing rockets over the border, one of which killed a soldier.
After 12 hours of holding its fire, Israel said it was resuming its operations following "incessant" rocket fire from Hamas.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, this morning have ordered the IDF to resume operations against the Hamas movement who violated the humanitarian truce which the UN requested for the residents of Gaza," it said.
Bombing resumes
Shortly afterwards, the skies over Gaza were filled with the familiar sound of explosions, as plumes of black smoke quickly rose on the horizon, an AFP correspondent in Gaza City said.
Ambulance sirens wailed as medics sprang into action, cars racing down the streets which quickly emptied of people who had ventured out to make the most of the lull.
In the ensuing four hours, nine Palestinians were killed in a series of air strikes and tank shelling, including two men who were riding a motorcycle in Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, and a Christian woman in western Gaza City, Ashraf al-Qudra said.
The violence raised the death toll in Gaza to over 1,050, while more than 6,000 people have been injured, with UN figures showing that around three-quarters of the dead were civilians.
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Israel s agreement to hold its fire in the face of a fresh Hamas rejection had given greater "legitimacy" to continue the military operation which had the ultimate aim of "demilitarising" Gaza.
