Gaza ceasefire last just MINUTES leaving more children dead and wounded

The “humanitarian ceasefire” had been agreed at the request of the Red Cross to allow the evacuation and lasted less than an hour after the truce began

Suffering: Israel and Hamas blamed each other for resuming hostilities

A two-hour ceasefire in Gaza lasted minutes leaving more innocent children killed and wounded.

As shelling restarted, heavier than before, Israel and Hamas blamed each other for resuming hostilities. A total of 100 lives were lost on both sides.

At least 87 Palestinians died and many more were severely hurt in an attack on Shejaia, a mile east of Gaza city and home to 80,000 people.

The victims included 17 children and 14 women and brought the total dead in the recent conflict to more than 400.

Israel said 13 of its soldiers died in the clashes, taking its death toll to two civilians and 18 soldiers. More than 50 Israeli troops have been wounded.

Dozens of bodies lay in blood-soaked streets as child casualties were taken to hospital.

The young victims were all said by Palestinian medics to be the victims of heavy Israeli shelling.

Hamas militants said they had ambushed Israeli troops and detonated explosives around their vehicle.

Other Islamist militants claimed an attack on Israeli soldiers.

Gaza residents said land and naval shellings was the heaviest in 13 days since Israel launched its offensive on the Palestinian territory on July 8 after cross-border rocket strikes by militants intensified.

Explosions rocked the coastal enclave overnight.

The “humanitarian ceasefire”, had been agreed by both sides at the request of the International Committee of the Red Cross to allow the evacuation and was supposed to last from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

But the fighting erupted again less than an hour after the truce began.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of carrying out a massacre and declared three days of mourning.        

But the Israeli military said Hamas had fired rockets and built tunnels and command centres in Shejaia.

And it said it had previously warned people to evacuate the area. Thousands fled Shejaia, many heading for hospitals, seeking sanctuary from the attacks.

An air strike on Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya’s home killed his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

Israel, which has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields by launching rockets from residential areas, sent troops into the Gaza Strip on Thursday.

Today, the Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said: “It has been a tough day of combat, but it won’t deter us.

"The operation is necessary and, if needed, we will broaden it.”

Militants kept up their rocket fire on Israel and sirens sounded in southern Israeli towns and in Tel Aviv.

Reuters

Wounded: A Palestinian policeman carries a boy

The UN says the majority of those killed since the fighting started earlier this month have been civilians.

And the organisation has warned it is running out of supplies to help more than 50,000 Palestinians who have sought shelter at its schools in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will take “whatever action is necessary” to halt Hamas cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza.

And he insisted that his forces were doing their utmost to avoid any civilian casualties.

He said: “We try to target military targets and unfortunately there are civilian casualties which we regret and we don’t seek.”

But the Arab League described the Israeli attacks on Gaza as a “war crime”.

Qatar was due to host a meeting between President Abbas and Ban Ki-moon yesterday before the UN chief continues on to Kuwait, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan.

Mr Abbas is also due to meet Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

Hamas rejected an Egypt-brokered ceasefire last week, saying that any deal with Israel must include an end to a blockade of Gaza.