Renee Lewis – aljazeera
The U.N.-brokered plan will allow Palestinians to restock food, water and other necessities
Israel agreed to a five-hour “humanitarian” pause on Wednesday in its 9-day bombardment of Gaza under a United Nations-brokered plan that will allow Palestinians, who have suffered a disproportionate number of civilian casualties, to restock food, water and other necessities.
Israel will hold its fire Thursday beginning at 10 a.m. local time but has vowed to retaliate “firmly and decisively” if Hamas or other armed groups launch attacks on Israel during the lull.
Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, asked Israel to agree to the “unilateral humanitarian pause” so that supplies can be delivered to Gaza, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told The Associated Press. Serry will “urge the parties in Gaza to respect that pause,” Haq said.
There was no word on whether there would be a similar lull from Palestinian fighters.
Israel continued airstrikes overnight on Wednesday, bringing the death toll in Gaza to over 200, as it promised to ramp up its offensive and ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate their homes ahead of more strikes.
Earlier in the day, four Palestinian children were killed on a Gaza beach and one critically wounded when Israel’s naval gunboats shelled the area, according to journalists and medics at the scene.
“The kids were playing football on the beach. They were all … under the age of 15,” Ahmed Abu Hassera, 22, told Reuters.
“When the first shell hit the land, they ran but another shell hit them all … It looked as if the shells were chasing them,” Hassera, whose shirt was stained with blood, said.
Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza health ministry called it a “cowardly crime.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli army dropped leaflets and issued prerecorded phone calls to residents of northeast Gaza, telling them to evacuate.
“For your own safety, you must evacuate your homes now and at once go toward central Gaza. You have until 8 a.m. on Wednesday … It is forbidden that you go back to the areas cited above until further notice,” the warning said.
Hamas called the orders “psychological warfare” and urged residents to stay in their homes, the Palestinian news website Maan News reported. On Sunday, Israel warned residents of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza to leave, causing at least 17,000 civilians to seek shelter in United Nations installations.
Israeli experts predicted on-the-ground raids to demolish rocket-launching sites and bunkers that the military could not destroy with air and naval strikes.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement Wednesday that “providing warnings does not make an otherwise unlawful attack lawful,” and condemned both Israeli and Gazan attacks on civilians. Israeli airstrikes investigated by HRW revealed the targeting of civilian structures, often resulting in the unlawful killing of civilians. “Deliberate or reckless attacks violating the laws of war are war crimes,” the rights group said in a statement.
HRW also condemned Israel’s attacks on the family homes of alleged Hamas members. “The presence of a single, low-level fighter would hardly justify the appalling obliteration of an entire family,” Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director of HRW, said in the statement. “Israel would never accept an argument that any Israeli home of an Israel Defense Force member would be a valid military target.”
Indiscriminate attacks by armed groups in Gaza aimed at the Israeli population were also criticized by the organization.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel would intensify attacks on Gaza after Hamas didn’t adhere to a cease-fire proposed by Egypt. Hamas said it was not consulted about the cease-fire, and therefore couldn’t officially accept or reject it.
“This would have been better resolved diplomatically, that’s what we tried to do when we accepted the Egyptian truce proposal today,” Netanyahu said according to Maan News. “But Hamas leaves us no choice but to expand and intensify the campaign against it.”
Hamas said it never received a cease-fire proposal, and added that any deal that did not address its preconditions could not be approved.
Among those conditions, the group is demanding that Israel end its seven-year blockade on the occupied territory, recommitment by Israel to the terms of the 2012 cease-fire that ended the last offensive and the release of scores of Hamas members arrested across the West Bank in past weeks.
Islamic Jihad, the second largest armed group in Gaza, said Wednesday they would continue fighting until Israel met their demands. They offered a 10-year truce if Israel agreed to 10 conditions they set, Maan News reported.
Hamas also wants Egypt to ease its Rafah border closure, which along with Israel’s control of Gaza’s other borders has economically strangled the strip and restricted the movement of its residents.
The Israeli military has served demolition orders to residents of homes belonging to Hamas members, Haaretz reported. Israel said the members were involved in the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, which was followed by an intense military crackdown on Hamas in the occupied West Bank. Hamas has denied involvement in the crime.
Armed groups in Gaza resumed fire Wednesday morning after a relatively quiet night. Israel’s military said 1,215 rockets have been fired from Gaza, with only 38 exploding in built-up areas, Haaretz reported. Over 200 of the mortars have been intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, for which a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday approved a 50 percent funding boost, Maan reported.
Israel has launched more than 1,825 airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip, killing many civilians. Of the 214 Palestinians killed so far in Operation Protective Edge, at least 67 were women and children and 11 were elderly, according to Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry. Over 1,500 have been injured, and Gaza hospitals have reported severe medical-supply shortages.
The first Israeli death was reported Tuesday, after shrapnel from a rocket hit a civilian handing out food to soldiers near the Gaza border.
Rocket barrages from Gaza over the past week have also hit several sectors of the Jewish state’s economy, including manufacturing, retail, advertising and tourism, Haaretz reported.
Netanyahu’s coalition has faced political troubles since the recent Gaza clashes. On Tuesday, the prime minister fired Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, who had called Netanyahu a “failure” and said that Hamas was controlling the conflict, Maan reported.
“It is inconceivable that the deputy defense minister will attack the country’s leadership leading this campaign,” a statement by Netanyahu said, according to Maan. “The severe remarks show a lack of responsibility … and even are used by Hamas terror group to slam the government.”
Earlier, Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, faulted Netanyahu for accepting the Egyptian truce, saying Israel should re-conquer Gaza. Lieberman had threatened to pull out of Netanyahu’s coalition before the offensive started — which could threaten the government — saying the prime minister was not being tough enough on Hamas.
After the failed cease-fire attempt Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with the Egyptian foreign minister Wednesday and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi Thursday morning.
