Obama calls for immediate truce as Gaza toll soars
Monday, 21 July 2014
US President Barack Obama called for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ between Israel and Hamas on Sunday, after the bloodiest day of fighting in Gaza raised the number of Palestinians killed to 476. The United Nations Security Council opened urgent talks on efforts to strike a ceasefire deal as Israel ramped up a major military offensive with fresh strikes on Monday in the Palestinian territory. The Palestinian death toll soared to 476 after the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years, with a spokesman for the enclave’s emergency services saying more than a third of Sunday’s 120 victims were women and children. The Israeli army said 13 soldiers had been killed inside Gaza on Sunday, raising to 18 the number of soldiers killed since the ground operation began late on Thursday. Late Sunday, the armed wing of Hamas claimed it had kidnapped an Israeli soldier, prompting celebrations in the streets of Gaza City and West Bank cities. ‘The Israeli soldier Shaul Aaron is in the hands of the Qassam Brigades,’ a spokesman using the nom-de-guerre Abu Obeida said in a televised address. A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said they were investigating the claim, according to AFP.