Gaza siege shaping up as deadliest Israeli conflict in a decade
As Palestinian and Israeli casualties continue to grow at alarming pace, analysts fear that absence of clear exit strategy could prolong fighting
Palestinian and Israeli casualties are mounting at a pace that could surpass any other Israeli conflict in nearly a decade, amid signs of a deepening military and political stalemate driven by diplomatic gridlock, Palestinian militant resilience and the absence of a clear Israeli exit strategy.
The rising death toll in the Gaza conflict propelled US and European diplomats huddled in Paris to call for an extension of a 12-hour humanitarian truce on Saturday that had afforded both sides a brief respite from the nearly three-week-old conflict.
Late on Saturday night, Israel approved a 24-hour extension of the truce, but called it off after Hamas launched rockets into southern and central Israel, and Palestinian medics said at least 10 people had died in the wave of subsequent strikes that swept Gaza.
Hamas militants agreed yesterday to a 24-hour humanitarian truce, a spokesman for the group said, adding that the calm should start at 2pm local time.
But as both Hamas and Israel continued to launch attacks, each side blamed the other for scuttling the efforts.