Ceasefire offer rejected by Israel: Haniya for diplomatic solution
GAZA CITY, July 8: A six-year-old Palestinian girl, her elder brother and her mother were among seven Palestinians killed on Saturday as Israeli forces pursued their Gaza campaign to free a captured soldier and end militant rocket fire.
On the diplomatic front, Israel flatly rejected a call by Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya for a ceasefire and a ‘return to a situation of calm on the basis of a halt to all military operations by both sides’.
The three members of one family died during an Israeli air strike on a house east of Gaza City.
The aerial attack came in the neighbourhood of Shajaya, near the Karni border crossing, on Gaza’s eastern border with Israel.
The Israeli army confirmed an air strike in the area, but denied hitting any homes.
“An air strike targeted a group of gunmen walking in an open area near the Karni crossing. We did not hit any buildings,” a spokesman said.
Earlier in the day another four Palestinians were killed in sporadic exchanges of fire with Israeli soldiers who took up positions overnight in nearby farmland and industrial areas.
Forty Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have been killed since Israel launched its massive military operation in Gaza on Wednesday aimed at suppressing rocket attacks and freeing Gilad Shalit, the captured soldier.
CEASEFIRE CALL: An official in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office, while rejecting Ismail Haniya’s call for a ceasefire, said: “We do not hold negotiations with terrorists. They must first return the kidnapped soldier unharmed and cease their fire.”
“We will decide on our next moves according to the steps taken by the Palestinian government,” he said.
Mr Haniya stressed that his Hamas government was determined to solve the problem through diplomatic channels in a peaceful manner.
“It is necessary that Israel halt its military operation in the Gaza Strip and withdraw its forces,” said a statement from Mr Haniya.
“More efforts are required from all parties to resolve the current crisis in order to bring an end to the Israeli aggression and resolve the question of the Israeli soldier through serious negotiations,” it added.—AFP
