WORLD
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed regional proxies to nail down a Gaza ceasefire on Friday as the civilian death toll soared, threatening to spread Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
With Israel and Islamist Hamas setting seemingly irreconcilable terms for a truce that mediators hope will begin by a major Muslim festival next week, Kerry worked the phones from Egypt while aides made clear his patience was limited.
The urgency was spurred on Thursday by the killing of 15 people sheltering at a UN-run school in the northern Gaza Strip, which local officials blamed on Israeli shelling. Israel said its forces had come under attack from Palestinian militants in the area of the school and that they had shot back. It accused Hamas of preventing any evacuation.
An Israeli air strike on Friday killed the top spokesman for armed faction Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, along with his son, Gaza officials said, bringing the mostly civilian Palestinian death toll to 804.
In the occupied West Bank, where US-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas governs in uneasy coordination with Israel, some 10,000 demonstrators marched in solidarity with Gaza overnight - a scale recalling mass revolts of the past.
Protesters surged against an Israeli army checkpoint, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, and Palestinian medics said one was shot dead and 200 wounded when troops opened fire.
On Friday, Israeli forces went on high alert for flare-ups at a Jerusalem mosque compound during prayers marking the final stretch of the Ramadan Muslim holy month.
Israel has lost 32 soldiers in a Gaza ground advance it says aims to destroy cross-border infiltration tunnels used by Hamas to threaten its southern villages and army bases. Three civilians have been killed in Israel by rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza - the kind of shelling that surged last month amid Hamas anger at a crackdown on its activists in the West Bank, prompting the July 8 launch of the Israeli offensive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene his security cabinet on Friday to discuss a limited humanitarian truce under which Palestinian movement would be freed up to allow in aid and for casualties to be recovered.
An Israeli official said the Netanyahu government envisages the initial halt to the fighting lasting seven days, during which the army would keep digging up tunnels on Gaza's eastern frontier.
"First Israel wants to hear Hamas's response to the (Kerry) proposals," the official said, adding that some members of the security cabinet also sought assurances that Gaza would be stripped of its remaining rockets under any extended ceasefire.
Hamas had no immediate comment. On Wednesday, its leader Khaled Meshaal voiced support for a humanitarian truce, but only if Israel eased restrictions on Gaza's 1.8 million people.
Hamas wants Egypt to open up its border with Gaza, too, and has demanded that Israel release hundreds of prisoners rounded up by Israel in a sweep of the West Bank last month following the kidnap and killing of three Jewish teenagers. Such concessions appear unlikely, however, as both Israel and Egypt consider Hamas a security threat.
One Cairo official said next week's Eid al-Fitr festival, which concludes Ramadan, was a possible date for a truce. But U.S. officials were circumspect on progress made by Kerry in the mediation that has involved Egypt, Turkey, Qatar and Abbas.
"Gaps remain between the parties, so his focus is on finding a formula that both sides can accept," a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, adding that Kerry would not stay "for an indefinite amount of time".
More than 140,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza by the fighting, many of them seeking shelter in buildings run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). An UNRWA spokesman said the agency had tried in vain to arrange with Israel for an evacuation of civilians from the school in northern Beit Hanoun before it was shelled Thursday.
Scores of crying families who had been living in the school ran with their children to a hospital a few hundred metres away where the victims were being treated. Laila Al-Shinbari, a woman who was at the school when it was hit, told Reuters that families had gathered in the courtyard expecting to be evacuated shortly in a Red Cross convoy.
"All of us sat in one place when suddenly four shells landed on our heads ... Bodies were on the ground, (there was) blood and screams. My son is dead, and all my relatives are wounded, including my other kids," she said, weeping.
Eight rockets were launched at Israel from Gaza on Friday, the army said - a slower rate of fire than has been seen in previous days. One was shot down by the Iron Dome interceptor while the rest fell harmlessly wide.
The rockets, reaching as far as commercial capital Tel Aviv and beyond, have sent Israelis regularly rushing to shelters and dented the economy, despite Iron Dome's high rate of success.
A rocket intercepted near Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday prompted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to halt American commercial flights to Israel's main international gateway, with some European carriers following suit.
Jolted by the blow to its hi-tech economy at the height of the summer tourism season, Israel persuaded U.S. authorities to lift the flight ban on Thursday.
Parliament's winter session to begin from Nov 25, to continue till Dec 20
IPL 2025 mega auction dates announced: Check no. of players, venue, where to watch and more
Deepinder Goyal reveals customers' reaction to wife Grecia Munoz delivering Zomato orders
Infosys founder Narayana Murthy flirts with Sudha Murty in viral video from Kapil Sharma show
Ajay Devgn's fans don't want Singham Again to become a blockbuster: 'Rohit Shetty jab tak hai...'
Types, Most Popular and Where to Buy Peptides for Bodybuilding
Luxury in the City of Light: SABO Boutique Hotel Brings Elegance to Varanasi’s Sacred Ghats
Virat Kohli, Babar Azam could play for same team as Afro-Asia Cup set for revival
Shaping the Future of Web Apps: Full Stack Developer’s Expertise in API Design and Cloud Deployment
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Software Performance and Security
Mastering Linux for Superior Sound
Amid divorce rumours of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, Aaradhya praises mother in viral video
AI in Data Warehousing: Future Trends and Innovations
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio IPO worth Rs 840960 crore in 2025: All you need to know
After India's 0-3 loss against New Zealand, Shah Rukh Khan calls Gautam Gambhir...
BIG revelation on Imane Khelif, Olympic gold medallist boxer's medical repot leaked, it confirms…
Meet man who built Rs 152000 crore company, donated Rs 100 crore, now set to lead US firm as...
Visa Uncertainty: Impact of US polls on global talent
Virat Kohli turns 36: IPL franchises send heartwarming birthday wishes to legendary India cricketer
Meet Sanjay Verma, the new DGP of Maharashtra who replaced Rashmi Shukla
Anushka Sharma shares FIRST photo of Akaay, Vamika to celebrate Virat Kohli’s birthday
CAT 2024 admit card to be out today at iimcat.ac.in; know release time, steps to download
Vikas Divyakirti UPSC Tips: Check strategy to crack IAS exam, aspirants should study for...
Video of Pakistani man putting hand into chained tiger's mouth goes viral, social media reacts
Shalini Passi reveals her husband's connection to Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri Khan, they were..
SC upholds validity of UP madrassa law, says it does not violate principle of secularism
US Presidential Elections 2024: What time do the polls close; when will the results be known?
Elon Musk shares controversial post on X amid US election results, video goes viral
Mukesh Ambani's company earned Rs 15393 crore last week, his net worth now stands at...
Chhath Puja 2024: Know about Kharna, Sandhya Arghya, Usha Arghya, date, timings and puja vidhi
Virat Kohli Birthday: Legendary batter turns 36, here's a look at his incredible milestones
When Ratan Tata met his first true love after 50 years, went for dinner together, know who she was
Samantha Ruth Prabhu hits back at trolls who body-shamed her: 'If you guys...'
Two fall prey to Narayana Murthy and Mukesh Ambani's deepfake videos, lose Rs 80 lakh: Report
North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles toward sea ahead of US election
Deepika Padukone romances Hrithik Roshan in Bikini, looks sizzling hot in UNSEEN viral video
Chhath Puja 2024: Top 50 wishes, What'sApp messages, quotes to share with your loved ones
Meet Caroline Emmons, Ratan Tata's 'first love' with whom he couldn't marry due to...
Who is Rohan Jaitley, frontrunner to replace Jay Shah as BCCI secretary?
World’s most expensive human tooth is valued over Rs 3000000, it belonged to…
Viral video: Little girl’s adorable dance to Lisa Haydon’s 'Manali Trance' impresses internet, watch
SC to deliver its verdict on pleas against Allahabad HC order scrapping UP madrasa law today
DNA TV Show: Why Election Commission changed Assembly by-elections' dates
Days after imposing fine on Anil Ambani, Sebi now issues Rs 130 crore demand notices to...
Thailand announces indefinite visa-free entry for Indian travellers
Meet daughter of billionaire, who studied in UK, now works in Rs 32770 crore Indian company as...
MUDA case: Lokayukta police summon Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for questioning on...
This city is 4000 years old, belongs to bronze age where 500 people lived, it is located in...
Kamala Harris has been the President of US before? Here's when and how
What is elimination inflammation diet that helped Vidya Balan lose weight?