Hamas open to talks

GAZA, Mar 19 (AFP): Hamas said it remained open to negotiations while calling for pressure on Israel Wednesday to implement a Gaza truce after its deadliest bombing since the fragile ceasefire began in January.

Israel carried out fresh air strikes on Gaza on Wednesday, killing 13 people according to the territory's civil defence agency, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday's raids were "only the beginning".

The United Nations and countries around the world condemned the high civilian death toll in the renewed strikes, which have killed more than 400 people, according to Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Hamas is open to talks on getting the ceasefire back on track but will not renegotiate the agreement that took effect on January 19, an official from the militant group said.

13 killed in Israeli Gaza

strikes overnight

Gaza's civil defence agency said Wednesday that 13 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian territory since midnight.

Israel "carried out several air strikes... which resulted in the deaths of 13 people and wounded dozens, including women and children, in Khan Yunes and Gaza City", Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency, told AFP.

Israel on Tuesday launched its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January 19 ceasefire between it and Palestinian militants Hamas ended more than 15 months of war.

The bombardments, which came after the collapse of talks on extending the truce, killed more than 400 people, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

EU tells Israel fresh Gaza strikes 'unacceptable'

The EU's top diplomat said Wednesday that she told her Israeli counterpart the fresh wave of strikes on Gaza was "unacceptable".

Israel on Tuesday launched its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January 19 ceasefire with Palestinian militant group Hamas ended more than 15 months of war.