Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his Gaza offensive would continue as long as necessary, a day after an Egyptian call for a ceasefire and new truce talks.
"Operation Protective Edge will continue until its aims are achieved... it may take time," he said of the Gaza Strip operation launched on July 8, in remarks broadcast by public radio.
An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinians in the enclave Sunday as militants kept up rocket fire.
The pace of Israeli raids was slower than Saturday when at least 60 strikes pounded Gaza, killing 10 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and bringing down a 12-storey apartment block.
But there was no sign of either side adopting the ceasefire Egypt appealed for on Saturday to allow negotiators to return to Cairo to thrash out the details of a durable truce.
Israeli aircraft hit 20 "terror targets" in Gaza Sunday morning, while militants fired at least 20 rockets or mortar rounds at Israel, the army said.
An Israeli strike on the western side of Gaza City killed two Palestinians and wounded five, emergency services said.
Since a previous round of frantic Egyptian diplomacy collapsed on Tuesday, shattering nine days of calm, 88 Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have been killed in the violence.
At a special cabinet session at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu repeated his warning of harsh retribution for the death of an Israeli child on Friday in a rocket strike on a kibbutz near the Gaza border.
PM warns Lebanon, Syria
"Hamas is paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for the crimes it carries out," he said.
"I call on residents of Gaza to immediately leave any structure from which Hamas carries out terror activity against us. All such sites are a target for us."
At the funeral of Daniel Tragerman on Sunday, his mother Gila said she had seen the lively child as a future leader who could have brought peace.
"You are the love of my life, a perfect child, every mother and father's dream," she said.
Netanyahu also added a veiled warning to neighbouring Lebanon and Syria after overnight rocket fire into Israel.
"There is not and will not be any immunity for anyone who fires at Israeli citizens, and that is true for every sector and every border," he said.
Earlier on Sunday, five rockets fired from Syrian-controlled territory slammed into the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights but caused no casualties, the Israeli army said.
Late Saturday, a rocket fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel, causing damage but no casualties.
Israel has so far not responded to either attack.
In a statement on Saturday, the Egyptian foreign ministry urged "concerned parties" in the Gaza conflict to accept an open-ended truce and resume indirect negotiations in Cairo.
Previous ceasefires with fixed timeframes have failed to give Egyptian mediators shuttling between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams enough time to broker a deal acceptable to both.
Israel insists on full safety for millions of citizens who live in daily fear of rocket fire.
Egypt truce talks bid
Gaza's Islamist de facto ruler, Hamas, says any truce must provide for a lifting of Israel's crippling eight-year blockade of the territory and the opening of a seaport and airport.
But on Saturday, Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon told community leaders in the south that Israel now needed to look for a diplomatic solution to the rocket fire, adding that it would be doing so from a position of strength.
"I am convinced the other side in its condition needs a ceasefire more than we do," Yaalon said.
The invitation to new truce talks came after a meeting on Saturday between Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
"What interests us now is putting a stop to the bloodshed," Abbas said.
"As soon as a ceasefire goes into effect, the two sides can sit down and discuss their demands," he said, adding that, as in previous rounds of talks, Hamas would be represented in the Palestinian delegation.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP that "any proposal offered to the movement will be discussed".
Abbas held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal before heading to Cairo.
At least 2,105 Palestinians and 68 people on the Israeli side, all but four of them soldiers, have been killed since the conflict erupted nearly seven weeks ago.
The United Nations says 70 percent of the Palestinian victims were civilians, and that among the dead were 478 children.
Around 460,000 people have fled their homes in Gaza -- more than a quarter of the enclave's 1.8 million population.
AFP
Sun Aug 24 2014
"Hamas is paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for the crimes it carries out," Netanyahu said.
Kampung Tanjung Kala residents affected by flooded bridge every time it rains heavily
Almost 200 residents from 60 homes in Kampung Tanjung Kala have ended up stuck when their 200-metre (m) long concrete bridge flooded.
COP29 climate summit draft proposes rich countries pay $250 billion per year
The draft finance deal criticised by both developed and developing nations.
Bomb squad sent to London's Gatwick Airport after terminal evacuation
This was following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage.
Kelantan urges caution amidst northeast monsoon rains
Kelantan has reminded the public in the state to refrain from outdoor activities with the arrival of the Northeast Monsoon season.
Former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern receives UN leadership award
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern was given a global leadership award by the United Nations Foundation.
ICC'S arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant an apt decision - PM
The decision of the ICC to issue arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is apt, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
KTMB provides two additional ETS trains for Christmas, school holidays
KTMB will provide two additional ETS trains for the KL Sentral-Padang Besar route and return trips in conjunction with the holidays.
BNM'S international reserves rise to USD118 bil as at Nov 15, 2024
Malaysia's international reserves rose to US$118.0 billion as at Nov 15, 2024, up from US$117.6 billion on Oct 30, 2024.
Findings by dark energy researchers back Einstein's conception of gravity
The findings announced are part of a years-long study of the history of the cosmos focusing upon dark energy.
NRES responds to Rimbawatch press release on COP29
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) wishes to offer the following clarifications to the issues raised.
Online Safety Bill and Anti-Cyberbullying Laws must carefully balance rights and protections
The Online Safety Advocacy Group (OSAG) stands united with people in Malaysia in the fight against serious online harms.
Malaysia's inflation at 1.9 pct in Oct 2024 - DOSM
Malaysia's inflation rate for October 2024 has increased to 1.9 per cent, up from 1.8 per cent in September this year.
Saudi Arabia showcases Vision 2030 goals at Airshow China 2024
For the first time, Saudi Arabia is participating in the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition held recently in Zhuhai.
King Charles' coronation cost GBP 71mil, govt accounts show
The coronation of Britain's King Charles cost taxpayers GBP72 million (US$90 million), official accounts have revealed.
Couple and associate charged with trafficking 51.9 kg of meth
A married couple and a man were charged in the Magistrate's Court here today with trafficking 51.974 kilogrammes of Methamphetamine.
PDRM to consult AGC in completing Teoh Beng Hock investigation
The police may seek new testimony from existing witnesses for additional insights into the investigation of Teoh Beng Hock's death.
Thai court rejects petition over ex-PM Thaksin's political influence
Thailand's Constitutional Court rejects a petition seeking to stop Thaksin Shinawatra from interfering in the running the Pheu Thai party.
Abidin takes oath of office as Sungai Bakap assemblyman
The State Assemblyman for Sungai Bakap, Abidin Ismail, was sworn in today at the State Assembly building, Lebuh Light.
UPNM cadet officer charged with injuring junior, stomping on him with spike boots
A cadet officer at UPNM pleaded not guilty to a charge of injuring his junior by stomping on the victim's stomach with spike boots.
How Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's alleged bribery scheme took off and unraveled
The indictment was unsealed on Nov. 20, prompting a $27 billion plunge in Adani Group companies' market value.