Israel Cancels Ceasefire Early, Resumes Pounding Gaza: 1,139 Killed

Israeli Officials Spurn Hamas Call to Renew 24-Hour Pause

Last night’s Israeli announcement of a 24-hour extension of the “humanitarian ceasefire” on the Gaza Strip didn’t last very long at all, before Israel claimed Hamas was violating what they themselves referred to as a “unilateral” pause, and renewed full-scale bombing of civilian areas of Gaza.

Hamas has since offered to join in the 24-hour ceasefire if it is renewed, though Israeli officials say no official response will be given, and that the attacks on the tiny Palestinian enclave will continue.

The humanitarian disaster caused by the Israeli strikes is soaring, with more than 1.2 million Palestinians now without water because of Israeli attacks on pumping stations and sewage lines, and the death toll stands at 1,139 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians and 24% of them children. On the Israeli side, the toll is 45 dead, 42 of them soldiers.

As for the more permanent settlement, Israeli officials are openly railing about last week’s attempts to negotiate, and targeting Secretary of State John Kerry for trying to end the war, accusing him of “completely capitulating” to Hamas.

The primary knock on the proposal, according to Israeli cabinet ministers, is that it did not include a provision allowing Israel to continue attacking Gaza “terror tunnels,” meaning Israel objected to the ceasefire chiefly because of the part where they had to cease firing.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.