GAZA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior Gaza medical
official said on Wednesday that 1,010 Palestinians were killed and 4,600 others
wounded since Israel launched air and ground offensive on Gaza Strip.
Gaza emergency chief Mo'aweya Hassanein told
reporters that so far 1,010 Palestinians were killed, and 4,600 others wounded,
adding that around half of them are civilians.
Smoke rises following Israeli military operations in Gaza City, Jan. 14, 2009. Israel continued military attacks on Gaza City Wednesday, leaving more than 33 Palestinians dead and about 80 others wounded. (Xinhua/Nassar) Photo Gallery>>>
Hassanein said 26 Palestinians were killed on
Wednesday in a series of air and ground strikes on buildings and houses all over
Gaza Strip, mainly on eastern Gaza City and northern Gaza Strip.
He added that among the dead Palestinians, 225 are
children and 69 are women. He did not say how many militants have been killed
since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on Dec. 27 last year.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)
that rules the strip announced on Wednesday evening that it has accepted an
Egyptian-brokered initiative to reach a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza Strip.
Smoke rises following Israeli military operations in Gaza City, Jan. 14, 2009. Israel continued military attacks on Gaza City Wednesday, leaving more than 33 Palestinians dead and about 80 others wounded. (Xinhua/Nassar) Photo Gallery>>>
The Gaza-based local news agency of "Ramattan" quoted
senior Hamas sources as saying that the movement has accepted the initiative of
a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
In Gaza, senior Hamas leaders and spokesmen were
unreachable as they were hiding for 19 days in fear that Israeli warplanes would
target them personally. Several houses belonging to Hamas leaders in Gaza were
destroyed.
However, the local news agency, which sent an urgent
message to Gaza journalists' mobile phones saying that "special sources told the
agency that Hamas has accepted the Egyptian initiative."
Palestinians search for their belongings
in the rubble of a destroyed building following the Israeli military
operations in Gaza City on Jan. 14, 2009. (Xinhua/Wissam
Nassar) Photo
Gallery>>>
A Palestinian child who was injured in
an Israeli army strike is rushed to Kmal Idwan hospital in Jabaliya
refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip Jan. 13, 2009. (Xinhua
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R)
meets visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Cairo, capital of
Egypt, Jan. 14, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning) Photo
Gallery>>>
CAIRO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon arrived in the Middle East for a regional tour on Wednesday as intensive
talks among parties concerned were being held in a bid to help reach a ceasefire
in the embattled Palestinian territory of Gaza Strip.
During his stay in Egypt, Ban renewed his call for an
immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where more than 1,000 Palestinians have
been reportedly killed in the past 19 days of Israeli offensive against the
Palestinian enclave. Full story
RAMALLAH, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National
Authority(PNA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday evening that what the
Palestinian leadership want now is an immediate ceasefire in the warring Gaza
Strip.
Speaking at a press conference with visiting Spanish
Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, Abbas said that he doesn't know if the
Egyptian initiative about a ceasefire in Gaza will be implemented right now, but
"we hope the Israeli aggression on Gaza will end as soon as possible." Full story
GAZA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Resistance Movement
(Hamas) announced on Wednesday evening that it has accepted an Egyptian-brokered
initiative to reach a ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza-based news agency of "Ramattan" quoted senior
Hamas sources as saying that the movement, which rules the coastal enclave, has
accepted the initiative of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Full story
CAIRO, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 300 children have
been killed so far and over 1,500 wounded since the Israeli offensive on the
Gaza Strip, a statement by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on
Wednesday.
UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said in the
statement that "each day more children are being hurt, their small bodies
wounded, their young lives shattered," and "this is tragic. This is
unacceptable." Full story
