Israeli attacks continue as death toll reaches 113

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Two separate Israeli airstrikes killed four Palestinian civilians in northern and central Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning as both sides edge closer to a ceasefire agreement.

Israeli forces continued to target houses and kill civilians, mainly children and women. Fuad Hijazi, his wife and their two year old twins were killed when an Israeli F16 warplane attacked their house last night even though a commander in the Israeli air forces has reportedly told his officers to avoid unnecessary attacks on houses in order to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, 38 international humanitarian organisations, including Mercy Corps and Oxfam, have warned of a severe food crisis in Gaza unless the Israelis stop their attacks against civilians and open the border crossings between Gaza and Israel.

In Israel, the government’s inner cabinet has convened to discuss an Egyptian proposal for a truce with Hamas. “The goal is to reach a ceasefire and discontinue the operation,” an Israeli official told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. “An official statement about the contents of the meeting has yet to be issued.”

One Israeli analyst, Nahum Barnea, wrote to Yedioth Ahronoth suggesting that the Israeli government is “tormented by how to emerge from the Gaza operation with a sense of victory”.

MEMO Photographer: Mohammed Asad