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Israel’s Operation Protective Edge entered its 14th day on Monday, as the Palestinian death toll due to the Israeli assault reached 548 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, global efforts to bring peace to the region gathered pace as the United Nations and Washington demanded an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Sunday’s lethal violence had seen the death of 140 Palestinians, the highest number of deaths in Gaza since 2009. Medics on Monday pulled 68 bodies from collapsed buildings, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. Another 31 were killed in several strikes across the enclave.
Strikes from Israeli tanks on a hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah in Gaza caused the deaths of four people, while a family of nine, including seven children, was killed in the city of Rafah.
As diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation gathered steam, hundreds were seen leaving the town Beit Hanun a day after thousands fled from the district of Shejaiya. At least 72 people died during an Israeli operation in Shejaiya on Sunday. Most of the district was reduced to rubble as streets were left with charred bodies. Three more people in the district were killed on Monday by Israeli tank shelling.
According to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, large hordes of people have fled Gaza and over 85,000 have sought shelter in 67 schools they run since the conflict began on July 8th.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a joint appeal to end the “Israeli aggression” during talks in Doha. The two had met on Monday, their first meeting since the assault began, also called for Israel to lift a blockade on Hamas-controlled territory.
They underlined “the necessity of an end to the Israeli aggression and a lifting of the blockade”,chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said. He added that the two also “decided to hold further consultations with different Palestinian factions and contacts” on ceasefire efforts.
