- Palestinian militant group spoke moments after Israel accepted offer
- Armed wing said it was 'an initiative of kneeling and submission'
- Plan had called for hostilities to end today, followed by negotiations
- 185 Palestinians have died in a week of conflict in the Gaza Strip
- Israel's military said three rockets have been fired today from Gaza
Rocket attacks on Israel continued today after Hamas rejected out-of-hand a ceasefire plan brokered by Egypt.
The
Israeli military said three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at
empty lands near the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. There were no
casualties, military chiefs said.
It happened after the Palestinian militant group swiftly rejected a proposals for a truce agreed by Egypt and Israel and warned its attacks will 'increase in ferocity and intensity'.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior official with the Palestinian militant group, spoke moments after Israel accepted the offer.
He said: 'This proposal is not acceptable.'
Palestinians hold national flags and
pictures of children who were killed in the Israeli attack on the Gaza
Strip during a march against the war in the Gaza Strip on the Hawara
checkpoint near Nablus in the West Bank
A Palestinian searches a destroyed house following an Israeli missile strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip
The
al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, added that it had not
officially received the text of the agreement but said excerpts the
group had seen showed it was 'an initiative of kneeling and submission'.
'Our battle with the enemy continues and will increase in ferocity and intensity,' it said.
The
Egyptian plan had called for hostilities to end this morning, followed
by negotiations on easing the border blockade of Gaza.
But the Israeli government warned today that Israel would strike Gaza even harder if Hamas does not accept the truce.
A
spokesman said: 'If Hamas rejects the Egyptian proposal, if Hamas
continues to shoot rockets at Israeli cities, we are prepared to
continue our military operation and intensify it as needed to protect
our people.
The territory has been under a blockade by Egypt and Israel since Hamas seized Gaza in 2007.
The
Israeli Cabinet accepted the proposal for a ceasefire to end a week of
conflict with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip that has killed 185
Palestinians and exposed millions of Israelis to Hamas rocket fire.
The
office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Cabinet met this
morning and accepted the proposal, which went into effect at 9am local
time.
Former British
Prime Minister and Middle East envoy Tony Blair, speaks during joint
statements with Israel's President Shimon Peres at the President's
residence in Jerusalem
Smoke billows from a building hit by an Israeli air strike in the town of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip
Debris and remains of buildings and
cars after what police said was an Israeli air strike that destroyed a
nearby house in Gaza City
It
called for a ceasefire to begin within 12 hours of 'unconditional
acceptance' by the sides, followed by the opening of Gaza's border
crossings and talks in Cairo within two days.
Egypt's
state news agency said that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had
met with Tony Blair, envoy for the so-called Quartet of United Nations,
European Union, Russia and United States, in efforts to secure a truce.
An
Israeli government official said Mr Blair had met with Mr Netanyahu on
Friday. Today, he met with Israel's President Shimon Peres at the
President's residence in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile,
thousands of Palestinians are fleeing northern parts of Gaza after
Israel warned it was targeting the area. The UN says so far 17,000
people have sought refuge in its facilities.
Israel launched the offensive last Tuesday, saying it was responding to weeks of rocket fire out of the Hamas-ruled territory.
The
surge in hostilities over the past week was prompted by the murder last
month of three Jewish seminary students in the occupied West Bank and
the revenge killing on July 2 of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem.
A Palestinian looks at the damage to a house following an overnight Israeli missile strike in Gaza City
Palestinian children rest at a UN
school after evacuating their homes near the border at the Jabaliya
refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
A Palestinian man rests on school
desks as families gather at a UN school after evacuating their homes
near the border at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
Israel said on Monday three Jews in police custody had confessed to killing the Palestinian.
Hamas
leaders have said a ceasefire must include an end to Israel's blockade
of Gaza and a recommitment to a truce reached in an eight-day war there
in 2012.
Hamas
also wants Egypt to ease restrictions at its Rafah crossing with Gaza
imposed after the military toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last
July.
A Palestinian family breaks its
day-long fast at a UN school in Gaza City, after they fled from their
home adjacent to the border with Israel
Refugees in Gaza City, after they fled from their home adjacent to the border with Israel following air strikes
Palestinian families shelter at a UN
school after evacuating their homes near the border at the Jabaliya
refugee camp in the Gaza Strip
But the Egyptian proposal made no mention of Rafah or when restrictions might be eased.
It
said only that 'crossings shall be opened and the movement of persons
and goods through (them) shall be facilitated once the security
situation becomes stable on the ground'.
Hamas
has faced a cash crisis and Gaza's economic hardship has deepened as a
result of Egypt's destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels.
Cairo
accuses Hamas of aiding anti-government Islamist militants in Egypt's
Sinai peninsula, an allegation the Palestinian group denies.
Hamas
has said it wants the release of hundreds of its activists arrested in
the West Bank while Israel searched for the three missing teens.
The detainees include more than 50 Hamas men freed from Israeli jails in a 2011 prisoner exchange.
The
proposed truce made no mention of the detainees in stipulating that
'other issues, including security issues, shall be discussed with the
sides.'
More:
Israeli attack on Gaza sparks protests across the world
Today protesters in cities across the world took to the streets to demand that the international community takes action against Israel for its continuing attack on Gaza.As people in Gaza endured strike after strike by the Israeli air force, there were demonstrations in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Chile, the U.S. and Syria condemning what many see as the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
Israel says its attacks, which in six days have killed more than 160 people and injured more than a thousand, are aimed at stopping the hundreds of Hamas rocket attacks fired into Israel in recent days.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators holding banners and chanting anti-Israeli slogans in Paris
Indonesian Muslim protesters shout slogans during a rally against the Israeli attack on Gaza, in Jakarta, Indonesia today
Two Lebanese men carry a fake missile to protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza
At the United Nations, a Security Council
statement approved by all 15 members called for de-escalation of the
violence, restoration of calm, and a resumption of direct negotiations
between Israelis and Palestinians
Indian protestors hold placards as they take part in a rally against Israeli attacks on Gaza in New Delhi today
An Afghan policeman stands next to a protest
banner, during a rally against Israeli attacks on the Palestinian
territories, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan today
Hundreds of Syrian protesters hold anti-Israel
banners and posters, Syrian and Palestinian flags during a sit-in in
front of the UN office in Damascus, Syria
People march in Hong Kong protest today against Israel's military campaign in Gaza
Pro-Palestinian protesters rally against Israel in Sydney today
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2690359/Israel-launches-amphibious-raid-Gaza-ground-assault-latest-offensive-people-north-territory-told-leave-homes.html#ixzz37Xl2xI95
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2690359/Israel-launches-amphibious-raid-Gaza-ground-assault-latest-offensive-people-north-territory-told-leave-homes.html#ixzz37Xl2xI95
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