45 more killed in Gaza as toll reaches 151

GAZA CITY: At least 15 Palestinians were killed in new Israeli strikes on Gaza City late on Saturday, medics in the coastal enclave said.
“At least 15 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City that hit a house and a mosque,” emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. An earlier toll said 10 were killed.Another 35 were wounded in the same strike, and one more person was killed in southern Gaza´s Rafah that also injured five people, Qudra said.

The new deaths brought the toll in the fifth day of the conflict to 151, with more than 1,000 people wounded.

Earlier, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 30 people on Saturday, including two severely handicapped women in a care facility, medics said.

The Jewish state kept options open for a possible ground offensive into densely populated Gaza despite international pressure to negotiate a ceasefire in the conflict.

In strikes, eight people were killed in raids on Gaza City, central El-Bureij and northern Jabaliya. They included a woman aged 25, and a 16-year-old, Qudra said.

Earlier, six men were killed in the Sheikh Radwan district of western Gaza City, Qudra said. Aged from 21 to 58, they were sitting outside homes in the area when the strike hit, witnesses said. Neighbours told AFP two nephews of former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya were among them and named them as Nidal and Alaa al-Malash.

Their deaths followed an early morning strike that killed two women at a charitable association housing the disabled in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The women, Suha Abu Saada and Ola Washahi, both had severe mental and physical handicaps, association director Jamila Alaywa said. Four others were wounded in the attack —three residents and a helper, she said.

Another three people were killed in eastern Gaza City and three in an attack on the western side of town.

Earlier, Qudra announced the deaths of eight other Palestinians in raids that hit targets including a bank, two mosques and the houses of Hamas officials. Israel’s military said at least one of the mosques was being used to store weapons.

Israel began Operation Protective Edge on Tuesday in an attempt to halt cross-border rocket fire by militant groups. Gaza militants have fired approximately 525 mortar rounds and rockets that struck Israel, while another 138 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system, the army said on Saturday.

Despite international concern, truce efforts have been unsuccessful, according to Egypt, which has been key in mediating previous ceasefires between Hamas and Israel. “Egypt has communicated with all sides to halt violence against civilians and called on them to continue with the truce agreement signed in November 2012,” the foreign ministry said.

“Former British premier Tony Blair, the envoy for the so-called Quartet of Middle East diplomatic players, flew into Cairo on Saturday for talks on ending the violence.

Ismail Haniya, Gaza’s former premier and the most senior Hamas official in the coastal enclave, ruled out any halt to hostilities. “(Israel) is the one that started this aggression and it must stop, because we are (simply) defending ourselves,” he said.

Israel says preparations are underway for a possible ground incursion, with tanks and artillery massed along the border and some 33,000 reservists mobilised out of 40,000 approved by the cabinet. More armour was seen heading south on Saturday morning.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he expected a political decision on a possible ground operation by Sunday. “At the moment we are dealing with the first phase air attacks,” he told Channel One television on Friday. “I imagine we shall decide tomorrow (Saturday) or the day after on the next stage.

Kuwait requested an emergency Arab foreign ministers meeting to discuss “the deteriorating situation”, which a diplomat at the Arab League said will be held on Monday.

Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Gaza brought a rebuke from the UN human rights office over civilian casualty toll. “Even when a home is identified as being used for military purposes, any attack must be proportionate and precautions must be taken to protect civilians,” said spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.

Amnesty International called for the United Nations “to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and Palestinian armed groups” and launch an enquiry into “violations committed on all sides”.

Reuters add: Israel rushed an eighth missile interceptor battery into service on Saturday to counter stronger-than-expected rocket fire from Gaza as the military pounded positions in the Palestinian enclave for a fifth day.

A mosque in the central Gaza Strip was bombed to rubble. The Israeli military said the mosque had housed a weapons cache.

“Eight other mosques have been damaged from bombing and 537 Gaza houses have either been destroyed or damaged, according to the Gaza-based Al-Mezan Association for Human Rights.