No Support for Cease-Fire Seen Among Israel’s Leaders or Palestinian Militants

[Jefferson23]

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, facing growing international support for a cease-fire in the latest conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza, said once again on Sunday that the Israeli army was “prepared for any possibility.”

“I don’t know when the operation will end, it might take much more time,” Mr. Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks before his weekly cabinet meeting.

On the sixth day of Israel’s aerial bombardment of Gaza aimed at quelling Palestinian rocket fire, militant groups in that coastal enclave continued to launch rockets into Israel. Both sides appeared ready to continue and to escalate the conflict.

Israeli troops are massed on the Gaza border and more than 30,000 reservists have been called up, ready for a possible ground invasion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/world/middleeast/israel-gaza.html?_r=0

[King_David]

1. Hamas rejected Egyptian proposal to hold fire

http://metamorphosis.democraticunderground.com/113468214

[Jefferson23]

2. Yes, discrepancies..take your pick...for now. n/t

[Jefferson23]

3. UN calls for Israel-Gaza ceasefire

The UN Security Council has called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli air strikes hit the territory's security HQ and police stations early on Sunday, in what a BBC correspondent described as the heaviest bombardment since operations began on 8 July.

An earlier air strike is said to have killed 17 members of the same family.

Meanwhile, Israel says it has sent ground forces into Gaza in a raid on a rocket-launching site.

Four soldiers were "lightly injured" in a successful raid on the site, the Israel Defence Forces said on its Twitter feed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28279562

[Jefferson23]

4. snip*So far, neither Israel nor Gaza’s Hamas rulers have signaled willingness to stop.

Israel has carried out more than 1,200 air strikes this week to try to diminish Hamas’ ability to fire rockets at Israel, and the chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz, said Saturday there would be more strikes, especially in northern Gaza near the Israeli border.
“We are going to attack there with great force in the next 24 hours due to a very large concentration of Hamas efforts in that area,” he said. Late Saturday, the military said it was ordering Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate “for their own safety.”
Gaza’s Interior Ministry urged residents in the area to ignore Israel’s warnings and to stay in their homes, saying the announcement was Israeli “psychological warfare” and an attempt to create confusion.

Shortly after the Israeli announcement, an Israeli warplane struck the home of the Gaza police chief, Taysir Al-Batsh, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50, said Health Ministry official Ashraf Al-Kidra. He said worshippers were leaving the mosque after evening prayers at the time of the strike and that some people are believed to be trapped under the rubble.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/601146