Palestinians flee northern Gaza
July 14, 2014
Heading the warnings of the Israeli military, some 17,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza fled their homes over the weekend for shelters set up at UN schools, desperately trying to escape the looming threat of further airstrikes.
"The fact that in a span of almost a few hours, 10,000 people sought refuge in these 15 schools is an indication to the difficult situation on the ground," said Sami Mshasha, a spokesman with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Since "Operation Protective Edge" began last Tuesday, Israel has launched more than 1,300 airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated Palestinian enclave of 1.7 million people, which is administered by the Islamist group Hamas.
Israel has come under growing international criticism for launching airstrikes in heavily populated residential areas, often targeting the homes of alleged Hamas militants. More than 160 Palestinians have been killed by the airstrikes over the past six days. The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs said on Sunday that 133 of the Palestinian casualties were civilians.
UN warns against ground invasion
Palestinian militants have fired more than 800 rockets at Israel over the past week, some of them reaching central cities such as Tel Aviv. Israel has not suffered a single fatality, although several people have been wounded.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not ruled out a ground invasion of Gaza. Troops have been massed at the border and 20,000 reservists have been mobilized.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the rockets attacks by Palestinian militants as illegal, but also warned Israeli against invading Gaza.
"Too many civilians have been killed, and any Israeli ground offensive will undoubtedly increase the death toll and exacerbate civilian suffering in the Gaza Strip," Ban said.
The latest round of violence started when three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered last month. Israel blamed their deaths on Hamas, although the Islamist group has not claimed responsibility.
Tensions spiralled further out of control when a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was kidnapped and burnt alive. Israel has arrested six Jewish suspects in connection with the murder. Three of them have confessed to the crime.
slk/crh (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)