The Palestinian death toll continues to rise as the Israeli military escalates its ground offensive attacks.
On Monday, the Palestinian death toll reached 508 – according to Gaza Health officials – after a second week of senseless violence. Diplomatic efforts to negotiate a ceasefire have intensified amid the mounting pile of civilian corpses.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council expressed “serious concern” about Gaza’s rising civilian death toll, and demanded an immediate end to the fighting. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to head to Cairo this week to help push for an immediate ceasefire in the hostile region.
As Israeli airstrikes continue over Gaza, rescue workers dig out bodies from under the rubble. According to Ashraf al-Kidra, a Gaza health ministry official, 20 lifeless bodies have been pulled from a flattened home in Khan Younis, while two survivors were found amongst the rubble. Israeli tanks also opened fire on the home of the Siyam family, killing 10 people, including four young children and a 9-month-old baby girl.
The Israeli military said it foiled a Hamas infiltration attempt on Monday through two tunnels leading from northern Gaza into southern Israel. The military said 10 infiltrators were killed after being detected and targeted by Israeli aircraft.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the offensive will continue “as long as necessary” to end attacks from Gaza on Israeli civilians.
SOURCE: HuffPost | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
