Israeli air strikes kill 120 Palestinians in single day; Hamas refuses truce without end to blockade

By Edo Konrad July 29, 2014 | Edit

Over 120 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday. as both Israel and Hamas evaluated a proposed humanitarian ceasefire. A top PLO official said that Palestinian factions in Gaza had agreed to a day-long humanitarian truce, a claim that was quickly refuted by Hamas.

Israeli airstrikes also destroyed Gaza’s only power station Tuesday morning. Amnesty International condemned the strike, saying it amounted to “collective punishment of Palestinians.” The strike on the plant is liable worsen severe problems with Gaza’s water supply, sewage treatment and power supplies to medical facilities.

Meanwhile, the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, stated that “there won’t be a cease fire without the end of [Israeli] hostility and the lifting of the blockade.”

Deif turned to the residents of the Gaza and praised them for their “resilience.” According to Deif, Hamas “will not accept interim solutions, and Israel must know that it send its troops to hell.”

Operation Protective Edge has claimed the lives of more than 1,210 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are civilians according to the UN, and has wounded over 7,000 others. On the Israeli side, 56 people have died since the operation began, including three civilians.

Peru and Chile recalled their Israel ambassadors late Tuesday due to what they deemed the “collective punishment” of Gaza. The two follow similar decisions by Ecuador and Brazil last week.

Funeral in Bani Suhaila for the 21 members of the Al-Najjar family, who were killed just before the ceasefire, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, July 21, 2014. (photo: Activestills.org)

Just hours later, the armed wing released a video showing the previous day’s infiltration into a military base in Nahal Oz, which killed five Israeli soldiers. The release of the video came just hours after an IDF unit opened fire and killed five militants who were spotted coming out of a tunnel near southern Gaza.

Senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office denied claims that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stated that Netanyahu had requested the the U.S. move forward the humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to Haaretz’s Barak Ravid. According to the officials, “Kerry was the one who brought up the option of a cease-fire to Netanyahu, not the opposite.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Knesset Member Haneen Zoabi (Balad) was banned from Knesset plenum sessions for six months due to her controversial statements on the kidnapping of three Israeli teens last month.

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Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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