Egypt condemns 'excessive' Israeli force against Gaza civilians
It also urged Israel
and Hamas, the Palestinian movement that dominates the Gaza Strip, to abide by
the "humanitarian truce" proposed by Cairo and backed by the United Nations to end
the 21-day conflict, reports AFP.
"Egypt
condemns the excessive use of force from the Israeli side against
civilians" in the coastal enclave, the foreign ministry said in a
statement.
It particularly condemned strikes on a hospital and a
beachfront refugee camp in
Palestinian medical sources said the Shati UN refugee camp
was hit by missiles from an Israeli warplane. But the Israeli military
categorically denied the attack, saying Hamas misfired their own rocket.
The statement said Cairo
"strongly condemns" the strike on Shati which killed 10 people, eight
of them children, and on Gaza 's Shifa hospital,
which Israel
also denied attacking.
The missile that hit the Shati camp also wounded 46 people,
many of them children.
The ministry appealed to both sides to abide by the
"humanitarian truce" proposed by Cairo , saying it would pave the way for a
"permanent ceasefire" based on the Egyptian initiative.
It is the "only way to preserve civilian lives,
innocent blood and end the seige on Gaza
that will allow our Palestinian brothers to achieve their legitimate aspiration
of an independent state," the ministry said.
Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also
called on Israel and Hamas
to stop the violence in Gaza .
"In the name of humanity, the violence must stop,"
Ban told reporters.
The UN is backing a bid by Egypt to broker a deal to end the
latest violence in Gaza that has left more than 1,050 Palestinians and 50
Israelis, most of them soldiers, dead.
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