An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires towards the Gaza Strip | New York Daily News
An eight year-old girl was killed in an air strike in al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City during an Israeli-declared humanitarian ceasefire. The strike injured at least thirty others.
The ceasefire was unilaterally declared by Israel around 10 a.m. this morning and was meant to apply to all of the Gaza Strip except Rafah, a border town where many Hamas-operated tunnels are believed to be. Israeli forces have stated in recent days that the destruction of these tunnels is the aim of 'Operation Protective Edge’, now in its 28th day, though the operation will continue once the Israeli military believes this has been achieved.
A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said "the operation will end only when a prolonged period of quiet and security is restored to Israel's citizens."
This morning's ceasefire was met with skepticism from Hamas.
"Israel’s so-called humanitarian ceasefire is unilateral and it comes in a time when the Zionist enemy wants to distract the world from the massacres they have committed against our people in Gaza," Abu Zuhritold Hamas's Al Aqsa television station.
Representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad convened in Cairo for ceasefire negotiations earlier today. Israel did not partake in the talks, claiming Hamas has previously not upheld ceasefire agreements.
As condemning tones from the United States, France and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon have sharpened, the death toll in Gaza since Israel began 'Operation Protective Edge’ 28 days ago has climbed above 1,800, with over 5,000 injured.
A Palestinian man drove a forklift into a bus in East Jerusalem today, overturning it. The man ran over one pedestrian in the process, who died in hospital.
The driver was shot dead by Israeli police soon after the incident. Onlookers chanted "Death to Arabs" in Hebrew as his body was loaded into an ambulance, Washington Postreports.
Just a few hours later a man opened fire on an Israeli soldier waiting at a bus stop near the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The identity of the suspect remains unknown. The solider survived the attack and is currently being treated in Hadassah Medical Center. Israeli police do not believe the two attacks are related, according to the Washington Post.