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On Thursday, Israel promised to keep its soldiers in Gaza and completely destroy network of tunnels connecting Gaza and Israel, as the death toll in the Palestinian enclave hit 1,435.
At an Israeli cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was not ready to accept a ceasefire which didn’t allow for soldiers to continue destroying tunnels reportedly used by militants to attack Israel.
“Until now, we have destroyed dozens of terror tunnels and we are determined to finish this mission — with or without a ceasefire.So I will not accept any (truce) proposal that does not allow the (military) to complete this work for the security of Israel’s citizens”, he said as the meeting began.
His remarks come after the Israeli army had confirmed mobilizing 16,000 reserve soldiers, bring the total number of troops called up to 86,000. It has not given out the number of troops currently deployed in Gaza.
At least 50 Palestinians were killed in violence on Thursday, as another 14 died from injuries they had suffered earlier in the city of Khan Yunis, medics said.
Nine people were killed by an Israeli air strike on a building in the Nusseirat refugee camp. Three people were killed by overnight strikes in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, while a body was discovered among the rubble in Khan Yunis. According to Gaza’s emergency services, the Palestinian death toll now stands at 1,435; additionally, around 8,100 people have been wounded in the strikes since June 8th.
The UN Security Council has called for an immediate and humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. It expressed its “grave disappointment” that multiple appeals to end the violence have largely been ignored.
According to UN statistics, around two-third of the victims in the conflict are civilians, and nearly half that number are children and women.
Pierre Krähenbühl, the Commissioner General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that the agency was almost at breaking point due to the massive humanitarian from the fighting.
“I believe the population is facing a precipice and appeal to the international community to take the steps necessary to address this extreme situation”, he said.
