Overnight rockets pummeled both Gaza and southern Israel
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There was a brief and conditional ceasefire between Gaza and Israel on Friday morning as Egypt’s Prime Minister Hesham Qandil arrived in Gaza.
Overnight and Friday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hit about 150 sites in Gaza. Crossfire from Hamas militants in Gaza on southern Israel also continued, with cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and nearby communities being targeted.
Two days of fighting have claimed the lives of 19 people in Gaza and 3 in Israel.
BBC Middle East Bureau Chief Paul Danaher reported on Twitter earlier Friday morning from inside Gaza that he could still hear the sound of outgoing and incoming rockets. BBC’s Gaza and West Bank correspondent Jon Donnison also confirmed via Twitter on Friday morning that Egyptian PM Hisham Qandil had arrived.
Another member of BBC’s staff, photo editor Jihad Mishawari, suffered the loss of his 11-month old son Omar, who was killed when a shell hit his house.
The Israel Air Force (IAF) has targeted over 450 sites in the Gaza Strip since initiating Operation Pillar of Defense on Wednesday. As part of the operation, the IDF will begin recruiting 16,000 reservists.
More than 300 rockets have hit Israel from Gaza since Wednesday, and about 130 have been intercepted.
According to the Israeli media, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will visit the region on Tuesday to help broker a cease-fire.
Prominent members of the U.S. Senate on Thursday issued a statement of support for Israel amid the ongoing violence.
Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) were briefed on the situation by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.
“As a bipartisan group of Senators committed to Israel’s security, we express our solidarity with Israel during this deeply challenging period and denounce the reprehensible and indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad against innocent Israeli citizens,” the Senators said in the joint statement. They added that they support Israel’s “right to defend its people.”
The UN reported that a UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) teacher in Gaza was among those killed on Thursday. Marwan Abu El Qumsan, was an Arabic teacher at UNRWA’s Preparatory Boys School in Jabalia and in his early 50’s. Qumsan was apparently in a car with his brother, who sustained serious injuries, near the location of an airstrike.
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