Israel continues to pound Gaza
Conflict rages on amid international cease-fire push
Deafening airstrikes and rocket fire once more shook Gaza overnight and early Wednesday amid an international diplomatic push to broker a cease-fire after more than a week of bloodshed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's bombing of Gaza had set its Hamas Islamist rulers back "many years" since it began on May 10 in response to Hamas rocket fire.
Warplanes hit Gaza City again in the pre-dawn hours, with the Israeli military continuing to target Palestinian militant leaders and infrastructure in the crowded enclave, under Israeli blockade for nearly 15 years.
The Israeli army said it had attacked "40 underground Hamas targets" overnight in the southern Gaza Strip.
In the northern Gaza Strip, a journalist working for Hamas-linked Al-Aqsa radio was killed when an Israeli strike hit his home north of Gaza City, authorities said, the first reporter killed during the current round of violence.
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 219 Palestinians, including 63 children, in Gaza since May 10, the territory's health ministry said.
Palestinian rocket fire has killed 12 people in Israel, Israeli police said.
Overnight, armed groups fired 50 rockets toward southern Israel, 10 of which fell short and struck inside Gaza, the Israeli military said.
A UN Security Council meeting broke up without issuing a statement late Tuesday, but France then said it had proposed a resolution calling for a cease-fire, in coordination with Israel's neighbors Egypt and Jordan.
Zhang Jun, China's ambassador to the UN, told reporters his team had heard the French cease-fire proposal and China was supportive.
Another diplomat said the proposal would seek to end hostilities, but also "allow humanitarian access."
The US, a key Israel ally, has repeatedly blocked adoption of a joint UN Security Council statement calling for a halt to hostilities.
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell backed mounting calls for a cease-fire and urged the Israeli military to act in a "proportionate" manner.
Speaking at an air force base in southern Israel on Tuesday, Netanyahu said Hamas and Gaza's second biggest armed group, Islamic Jihad, had "received blows they didn't expect."
Israel's bombing campaign has left Gaza's 2 million population desperate for relief.
Some 72,000 civilians have fled their homes, seeking refuge in UN-run schools and other public buildings, the United Nations says.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's bombing of Gaza had set its Hamas Islamist rulers back "many years" since it began on May 10 in response to Hamas rocket fire.
Warplanes hit Gaza City again in the pre-dawn hours, with the Israeli military continuing to target Palestinian militant leaders and infrastructure in the crowded enclave, under Israeli blockade for nearly 15 years.
The Israeli army said it had attacked "40 underground Hamas targets" overnight in the southern Gaza Strip.
In the northern Gaza Strip, a journalist working for Hamas-linked Al-Aqsa radio was killed when an Israeli strike hit his home north of Gaza City, authorities said, the first reporter killed during the current round of violence.
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 219 Palestinians, including 63 children, in Gaza since May 10, the territory's health ministry said.
Palestinian rocket fire has killed 12 people in Israel, Israeli police said.
Overnight, armed groups fired 50 rockets toward southern Israel, 10 of which fell short and struck inside Gaza, the Israeli military said.
A UN Security Council meeting broke up without issuing a statement late Tuesday, but France then said it had proposed a resolution calling for a cease-fire, in coordination with Israel's neighbors Egypt and Jordan.
Zhang Jun, China's ambassador to the UN, told reporters his team had heard the French cease-fire proposal and China was supportive.
Another diplomat said the proposal would seek to end hostilities, but also "allow humanitarian access."
The US, a key Israel ally, has repeatedly blocked adoption of a joint UN Security Council statement calling for a halt to hostilities.
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell backed mounting calls for a cease-fire and urged the Israeli military to act in a "proportionate" manner.
Speaking at an air force base in southern Israel on Tuesday, Netanyahu said Hamas and Gaza's second biggest armed group, Islamic Jihad, had "received blows they didn't expect."
Israel's bombing campaign has left Gaza's 2 million population desperate for relief.
Some 72,000 civilians have fled their homes, seeking refuge in UN-run schools and other public buildings, the United Nations says.
RELATED ARTICLES
