Gaza high-rise buildings hit by Israeli air strikes
No fewer than five Israeli air strikes have destroyed much of one
of Gaza 's
tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and
wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said.
"The 13-storey building, contained 11 floors of
residential units and two floors of commercial offices and a coffee shop. those
floors also host the offices of the Ministry of Public Works and offices
belonging to the political wing of Hamas movement."
Since a truce between Israel
and armed factions in Gaza
collapsed, the death toll in the Palestinian enclave has steadily risen, with
13 more Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes since Sunday night.
On Monday, a 17-year-old boy was killed and about 25 people
were wounded in a strike on a Gaza
City mosque.
The Gaza
religious affairs ministry said Israeli fire during the day destroyed four more
mosques, raising to 71 the number of mosques destroyed over the past seven
weeks.
Abdullah Mortaja, 27, a freelance journalist who previously
worked for Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV, was among the latest casualties. Medical
officials said he was hit by tank fire in the war-battered Shejaiya area of
eastern Gaza City .
Two people wounded previously died of their injuries on
Monday, raising the Gaza
death toll since the July 8 start of the campaign to 2,135 with 10,915 wounded,
according to the emergency services.
On the Israeli side, 68 people have been killed, the vast
majority were soldiers.
Trading blame
Despite the raging violence, there were signs the sides
might be edging towards a new ceasefire.
Qais Abu Leila, a senior Palestinian official involved in
Egyptian-mediated talks to reach a truce, said Cairo had proposed an indefinite ceasefire.
Cairo's latest initiative calls for the immediate opening of
Gaza's crossings with Israel and Egypt to aid reconstruction efforts in the
coastal strip, to be followed by talks on a longer-term easing of the blockade.
Hamas and Israel
blamed each other for delaying an agreement.
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