Gaza City - Israel vowed on
Thursday to keep its troops in
Gaza until they finish
destroying a network of cross-
border tunnels, despite sharp
UN and US criticism over the Palestinian death toll. Speaking at a cabinet meeting
in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said he
would not accept any ceasefire
that did not allow troops to
continue destroying tunnels 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," he said at the
start of the meeting. "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." His remarks came after the
army confirmed mobilising
another 16 000 reservists,
hiking the total number called
up to 86 000. Israel does not
say how many troops are currently fighting inside the
Gaza Strip. But the UN Security Council
called for humanitarian pauses
in Gaza and renewed its
appeal for an immediate
ceasefire. The Council expressed "grave
disappointment" that repeated
appeals for an end to the
fighting had not been heeded. Washington said it had agreed
to restock Israel's dwindling
munitions supplies, despite
increasing international
concern over the death toll in
Gaza, where 1 435 people have been killed in 24 days of
violence. But the White House on
Thursday said there was little
doubt Israeli artillery was the
source of a "totally
indefensible" strike that killed
16 people at a UN school in Gaza, the day before. "It does not appear there's a
lot of doubt about whose
artillery was involved in this
incident," White House
spokesperson Josh Earnest
said. Precipice "There is clearly more that can
and should be done to ensure
the safety of innocent
civilians," he added. UN figures indicate two-thirds
of the conflict's victims are
civilians, nearly half them
women and children. The top UN refugee official in
Gaza told the Security Council
on Thursday that his UNRWA
Palestinian refugee agency
was stretched to breaking
point by the massive humanitarian fallout 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," Pierre Krhenbhl said. The European Union on
Thursday condemned the hit
on the school, in the Jabalia
refugee camp, which had been
turned in a shelter for people
forced out of their homes by the fighting. "It is unacceptable that
innocent displaced civilians,
who were taking shelter in
designated UN areas after
being called on by the Israeli
military to evacuate their homes, have been killed. These
incidents must be investigated
with immediate effect," it
said. The shelling of the school also
drew sharp condemnation
from UN chief Ban Ki-moon,
who described it as
"reprehensible". But Israel's army suggested
the deaths may have been the
result of a misfired Palestinian
rocket. "It is not clear if the school
was hit by fire from IDF
soldiers or from Hamas
terrorists," military spokesman
General Moti Almoz told army
radio. Despite rising international
calls for a halt to the
bloodshed, the Israeli security
cabinet decided Wednesday to
press on with the Gaza
operation. Thai farmworker The offensive began on 8 July
with the aim of ending
militant rocket fire, but
expanded on 17 July with a
ground operation aimed at
destroying a sophisticated network of cross-border
tunnels which Israel has
vowed to dismantle. Despite a heavy death toll in
Gaza on Wednesday when 111
Palestinians were killed,
including the 16 at the school
and 17 who died in a strike on
a crowded market place, Washington said it had
restocked the Israeli army's
munitions supply. There was no let-up Thursday
in the bloodshed with at least
50 Palestinians killed, another
14 dying from injuries suffered
in earlier attacks and a
growing number of bodies pulled from under rubble in
areas near Khan Yunis, medics
said. Nine were killed in an Israeli
air strike on a house in the
central Gaza Strip's Nusseirat
refugee camp, while three
more were killed in night-time
strikes in the south of the strip, and a body was
recovered from rubble in the
town of Khan Yunis Gaza's emergency services put
the toll at 1 435 dead, with
more than 8 100 wounded. And another 15 people
sheltering in the UN school in
Jabaliya refugee camp that
was struck on Wednesday
were wounded when Israeli
aircraft attacked a mosque next door, medics said. In Israel, 56 soldiers have died
and Hamas rocket fire has
killed three civilians, two
Israelis and a Thai
farmworker. Despite the loss of life, there
appeared to be little Israeli
appetite for a truce, with a
senior official telling Haaretz
newspaper that a ceasefire
was not even close. Nevertheless, an Israeli
delegation travelled to Cairo
late on Wednesday to discuss a
possible ceasefire with
Egyptian officials, an official at
the airport told .http://m.news24.com/nigeria/World/News/Israel-vows-to-crush-Gaza-tunnels-20140731