Thousands of Palestinians flee northern Gaza as Israel assault heats up

Thousands of Palestinians have fled their homes looking for safety in UN shelters paying attention to the warnings from the Israeli military about imminent plans to bomb the area in the sixth day of an offensive against Hamas that has killed more than 160 people.

The fighting showed no signs of slowing, despite international calls for a ceasefire and growing concerns about the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza. US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and spoke to US “readiness” to help restore calm, while Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, continued to work behind the scenes.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire and condemned Hamas’ indiscriminate firing of rockets against Israeli civilian targets as “a violation of international law,” it said. At the same time, the UN chief is “deeply worried about the impact on Palestinian families of Israeli military action. Too many Palestinian civilians have been killed, and any Israeli ground offensive will undoubtedly increase the death toll and exacerbate civilian suffering in the Gaza strip,” it said.

Along with the diplomacy, Israel said it was pushing forward with preparations for a possible ground invasion of Gaza. Thousands of troops have massed along the border in recent days.

On Sunday, Palestinians with foreign passports began leaving Gaza through the Erez border crossing. Israel, which cooperated in the evacuation, said 800 Palestinians living in Gaza have passports from countries including Australia, Britain and the US.

By Adriana Rueda

Source: theaustralian.com.au 

Image: bbc.com