Israel Intensifies Gaza Attacks
More than 100 Palestinians are said to have
been killed as Israel intensified its
bombardment of Gaza and a ceasefire
proposal was rebuffed by Hamas.
Gaza's only power plant was hit as Israel carried
out air strikes targeting sites linked to Hamas,
the Islamist group which controls Gaza.
Israel intercepted rockets over central and
southern parts of the country.
Later, Hamas turned down a ceasefire proposal
from a senior Palestinian in the West Bank.
The proposal by Yasser Abed Rabbo of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) came in
the aftermath of a deadly series of air strikes
overnight and on Tuesday morning.
He said a ceasefire was imminent and claimed
to speak for Hamas, but a spokesman for the
group quickly denied that.
As night fell an audio recording emerged
attributed to Hamas' reclusive military leader,
Mohammad Deif, asserting Hamas' position.
"We don't accept any condition of ceasefire,"
the Associated Press quoted the Hamas
commander as saying. "There is no ceasefire
without the stop of the aggression and the end
of the siege."
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on
Gaza restricted the entry of goods since 2007.
Palestinian officials now say 1,156 Palestinians,
most of them civilians, have been killed in the
fighting since 8 July. Some 6,700 have been
injured.
Israel has lost 53 soldiers and three civilians -
two Israelis and a Thai worker.
Power plant destroyed
Gazans get power from just one local plant, as
well as some supplies from Israel and Egypt.
On Tuesday morning a huge plume of smoke
rose over the Strip's only power plant after one
of its fuel tanks was reportedly set alight by
Israeli tank shells, and the facility was forced to
shut down.
Source: BBC
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