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Gaza conflict: Mahmoud Abbas urges fresh talks in Egypt | Gaza conflict: Mahmoud Abbas urges fresh talks in Egypt |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on Israel and Hamas to attend fresh talks in Egypt. | Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on Israel and Hamas to attend fresh talks in Egypt. |
The Egyptian foreign ministry said it was ready to mediate and called for an immediate ceasefire. | The Egyptian foreign ministry said it was ready to mediate and called for an immediate ceasefire. |
A previous Egyptian-brokered truce collapsed on Tuesday. Health officials said at least seven Gazans were killed on Saturday, including two children. | A previous Egyptian-brokered truce collapsed on Tuesday. Health officials said at least seven Gazans were killed on Saturday, including two children. |
More than 2,090 Palestinians - mostly civilians - and 67 Israelis have been killed in recent weeks. | More than 2,090 Palestinians - mostly civilians - and 67 Israelis have been killed in recent weeks. |
Most of the dead on the Israeli side have been soldiers. A Thai national in the country was also killed by rocket fire early on in the six-week-old conflict. | Most of the dead on the Israeli side have been soldiers. A Thai national in the country was also killed by rocket fire early on in the six-week-old conflict. |
Israel says that since the ceasefire ended, over 525 rockets have been fired into Israel from Gaza, with 69 of them intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile defence system. | |
Leaflet warnings | |
On Friday, a four-year-old Israeli boy was killed in a village near the Gaza border, prompting Israel to warn it would "intensify" its operations. | On Friday, a four-year-old Israeli boy was killed in a village near the Gaza border, prompting Israel to warn it would "intensify" its operations. |
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) dropped leaflets over Gaza on Saturday warning residents it would "continue to attack every area from which terror activities against Israel originate". | |
"Every house from which military activity is carried out, will be targeted. For your own safety, prevent terrorists from utilising your property for terror agendas," the leaflet goes on. | |
In an interview with Yahoo News, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal rejected the charge that his organisation targets Israeli civilians. | |
"We try most of the time to aim at military targets and Israeli bases," Mr Meshaal said. "But we admit that we have a problem. We do not have sophisticated weapons. We do not have the weapons available to our enemy… so aiming is difficult," he went on. | |
He also addressed the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank that helped precipitate the current crisis. | |
He said Hamas's leadership "were not aware of this action taken by this group of Hamas members in advance". | |
"We learned about these confessions from the Israeli investigation," he said. | |
"But we understand people are frustrated under the occupation and the oppression, and they take all kinds of action," he said. | |
A Palestinian teenager from East Jerusalem was abducted and burned alive in an apparent revenge attack two days after the bodies of the Israeli teenagers were found on 30 June. | |
The killings set off an escalating cycle of violence which led to the current conflict. | |
Hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza resumed on Tuesday, scuppering Egyptian efforts to achieve a long-term ceasefire deal. | Hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza resumed on Tuesday, scuppering Egyptian efforts to achieve a long-term ceasefire deal. |
Hamas has insisted on a lifting of the economic blockade of Gaza as part of any longer-term deal. | Hamas has insisted on a lifting of the economic blockade of Gaza as part of any longer-term deal. |
Israel has vowed to pursue its campaign until "full security" is achieved through the disarmament of Hamas and other groups in Gaza. | Israel has vowed to pursue its campaign until "full security" is achieved through the disarmament of Hamas and other groups in Gaza. |