JERUSALEM
The Israeli government has officially rejected a U.N. proposal for a 5-hour humanitarian ceasefire in the embattled Gaza Strip, the Israeli daily Harretz reported Tuesday.
Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of Israel government activities, has told U.N. envoy Robert Serry that Israel rejected the proposal, the daily said.
Hamas confirmed late Monday that the U.N. had proposed a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
"The United Nations has called for a humanitarian ceasefire from 10am to 3pm Tuesday [7am to 12pm GMT), and Israel has not responded yet," Moussa Abu Marzouq tweeted.
The Palestinian resistance factions and Israel had two previous humanitarian ceasefires over the past week to provide assistance for the affected residents in the embattled Gaza Strip.
Since July 7, Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip with air and naval bombardments with the stated aim of halting rocket attacks from it.
On Thursday night, Israel stepped up its offensive to include ground operations, sending thousands of troops into the embattled Palestinian territory.
The onslaught has so far killed 583 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and wounded 4630 others.
The military operation, dubbed operation "Protective Edge," is Israel's third major offensive against Gaza in the last six years.
By Anees Barghouthy
www.aa.com.tr/en
