In Gaza Monday, a familiar story. (Via Getty Images)
"Reports of a strike on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City suggesting that Israel's self-imposed cease-fire is broken." (Via Sky News)
Monday’s humanitarian cease-fire marks the eighth pause in hostilities in the now month-long conflict. (Via Bloomberg,The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Telegraph, BBC)
This time, Israel acted unilaterally when declaring the truce, meaning only Israeli forces are observing it. Hamas is not.
But according to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel's attempt at a truce didn't last long — accusing the IDF of striking the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza Monday just minutes after the cease-fire began. (Via Middle East Eye)
Israel admits to the strike, but says it struck before truce began. Either way, it's important to note, Monday's cease-fire does not apply to areas where Israeli troops are already operating. (ViaIsrael Defense Forces)
That leaves the town of Rafah still subject to heavy fighting. A reported Israeli airstrike Sunday on a U.N. school in Rafah left 10 dead. (Via BBC)
The U.N.’s Ban Ki-moon condemned the Rafah shelling as "a moral outrage and a criminal act."
And from the State Department, especially harsh words for its ally — saying the U.S. was “appalled."
According to tallies from each side, over 1,900 Palestinians — most of them civilians — and 66 Israelis have died in the conflict. The lopsided death toll has put Israel under increasing pressure to scale back its operation.
And that looked to be the case this weekend. Israel signaled it was withdrawing some of its ground troops, having nearly completed its mission of destroying the Hamas-run tunnel network. (Via Israel Defense Forces)
But at the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel would keep fighting, in his words, “as long as it will take.” (Via Getty Images)
A writer at Time called the somewhat mixed message: “a formula for the blood-soaked Israel-Hamas war to plod on while the world watches the death toll in Gaza rise and international diplomats grow increasingly befuddled by the question of what to propose next.”
On the diplomatic front, a Palestinian delegation met with international mediators in Cairo Monday to negotiate a long term end to the fighting. Israel, however, is not participating in the talks.
