Gaza death toll nearly 100
20 Nov 2012 5:53 AM IST
Israel bombarded as many as 80 locations in the narrow Gaza enclave overnight, flattening Gaza's police headquarters and taking the Palestinian death toll to nearly 100 in six days of onslaught.
As civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, Egypt intensified efforts to mediate a truce between the two sides, and UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire as he prepared to join truce talks in Cairo.
The death toll in the coastal territory since the Operation Pillar of Defense began had reached 95, one third of the killed were not involved in the conflict, according to Israel's Haretz newspaper.
It said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) admitted that nine Palestinians were killed ‘accidentally’ in a missile strike in which a top operative in Hamas rocket programme was hit. The army's chief military spokesman, Yoav Mordechai, told Israel's Channel 2 TV that the intended target of the strike had been Yehiya Rabiah, the head of Hamas's rocket-launching unit, but that there had been ‘civilian casualties’. While Israeli military continued to pound the narrow Gaza Strip - 41 km long, 6-12 km wide - incessantly from both land and sea, it also prepared for a ground offensive in case truce talks failed. Even as casualties mounted, including women and children, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had assured world leaders that Israel was doing its utmost to avoid causing civilian casualties.
Ban on the other hand expressed concern at the increasing violence in a statement before setting off for the region.
‘I am deeply saddened by the reported deaths of more than ten members of the Dalu family... (and) by the continuing firing of rockets against Israeli towns, which have killed several Israeli civilians,’ Ban said. Sunday turned out to be the bloodiest day in the conflict, with 29 Palestinians reported killed. Among the dead was a family of at least nine people - half of them children - killed when an Israeli airstrike demolished a three-storey building in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi met Hamas’s political leader Khaled Meshaal, and Ramadan Shallah of Islamic Jihad as part of the mediation efforts. Israeli negotiators had also arrived in Cairo for talks on Sunday.
While most Western nations have supported Israel’s military onslaught calling it the country’s right to self defence, some leaders spoke against the rising civilian casualties in Gaza.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of committing ‘terrorist acts’ in Gaza, and charged the West of turning a blind eye to the killings of civilians there.
ISRAEL TAKES OVER HAMAS TELEVISION STATION
The Israeli army on Monday took over programming at a Gaza-based Hamas television station ‘to broadcast warnings,’ as deadly violence between the sides entered its sixth day.
Al-Aqsa television, the official station of Gaza's Hamas rulers, said in a statement the Israeli army ‘is interfering with Al-Aqsa TV,’ with the picture going on and off for several hours and sometimes appearing scrambled.
‘We took over the Hamas television to broadcast warnings,’ a military spokeswoman said, indicating the takeover would probably last for a number of hours.
But correspondents of a news agency in Gaza said they could see no warning being sent out by the army.
On Sunday, the army took over Hamas radio broadcasts in Gaza for several hours. Also on Sunday, at least eight journalists were injured when Israeli jets bombarded two media buildings in Gaza City, with the military saying it had hit Hamas communications sites.
A statement from the Israeli army after the attack called on ‘international journalists... to stay clear of Hamas's bases and facilities, which serve them in their activity against the citizens of Israel.’
Since violence erupted on Wednesday, 90 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza. Over 500 rockets hit Israel, resulting in three deaths.
As civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, Egypt intensified efforts to mediate a truce between the two sides, and UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire as he prepared to join truce talks in Cairo.
The death toll in the coastal territory since the Operation Pillar of Defense began had reached 95, one third of the killed were not involved in the conflict, according to Israel's Haretz newspaper.
It said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) admitted that nine Palestinians were killed ‘accidentally’ in a missile strike in which a top operative in Hamas rocket programme was hit. The army's chief military spokesman, Yoav Mordechai, told Israel's Channel 2 TV that the intended target of the strike had been Yehiya Rabiah, the head of Hamas's rocket-launching unit, but that there had been ‘civilian casualties’. While Israeli military continued to pound the narrow Gaza Strip - 41 km long, 6-12 km wide - incessantly from both land and sea, it also prepared for a ground offensive in case truce talks failed. Even as casualties mounted, including women and children, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said he had assured world leaders that Israel was doing its utmost to avoid causing civilian casualties.
Ban on the other hand expressed concern at the increasing violence in a statement before setting off for the region.
‘I am deeply saddened by the reported deaths of more than ten members of the Dalu family... (and) by the continuing firing of rockets against Israeli towns, which have killed several Israeli civilians,’ Ban said. Sunday turned out to be the bloodiest day in the conflict, with 29 Palestinians reported killed. Among the dead was a family of at least nine people - half of them children - killed when an Israeli airstrike demolished a three-storey building in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi met Hamas’s political leader Khaled Meshaal, and Ramadan Shallah of Islamic Jihad as part of the mediation efforts. Israeli negotiators had also arrived in Cairo for talks on Sunday.
While most Western nations have supported Israel’s military onslaught calling it the country’s right to self defence, some leaders spoke against the rising civilian casualties in Gaza.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of committing ‘terrorist acts’ in Gaza, and charged the West of turning a blind eye to the killings of civilians there.
ISRAEL TAKES OVER HAMAS TELEVISION STATION
The Israeli army on Monday took over programming at a Gaza-based Hamas television station ‘to broadcast warnings,’ as deadly violence between the sides entered its sixth day.
Al-Aqsa television, the official station of Gaza's Hamas rulers, said in a statement the Israeli army ‘is interfering with Al-Aqsa TV,’ with the picture going on and off for several hours and sometimes appearing scrambled.
‘We took over the Hamas television to broadcast warnings,’ a military spokeswoman said, indicating the takeover would probably last for a number of hours.
But correspondents of a news agency in Gaza said they could see no warning being sent out by the army.
On Sunday, the army took over Hamas radio broadcasts in Gaza for several hours. Also on Sunday, at least eight journalists were injured when Israeli jets bombarded two media buildings in Gaza City, with the military saying it had hit Hamas communications sites.
A statement from the Israeli army after the attack called on ‘international journalists... to stay clear of Hamas's bases and facilities, which serve them in their activity against the citizens of Israel.’
Since violence erupted on Wednesday, 90 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza. Over 500 rockets hit Israel, resulting in three deaths.
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