[Glenn.]

Israel has violated ceasefire 47 times and killed 38 Palestinians, says Gaza media office
Authorities urge UN to intervene ‘to protect unarmed civilian populations’ after attack on bus that killed 11



Authorities in Gaza called on “the United Nations and the guarantor parties of the agreement to intervene urgently to compel the occupation to end its ongoing aggression and to protect unarmed civilian populations”.

Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said the Rafah crossing – a crucial entry point for aid – would only reopen after Hamas hands over the bodies of all deceased hostages still held in Gaza.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice,” a statement from his office on Saturday read. “Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its obligations to return the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and to implement the agreed-upon terms.”

Hamas later said it would hand over two more bodies of Israeli hostages on Saturday, at 10pm local time (7pm GMT).

Eleven members of a Palestinian family were killed by Israeli forces on Friday, described as the deadliest single violation of the fragile ceasefire since it took effect eight days ago. Gaza’s civil defence agency said the family were trying to reach their home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City when the bus they were in was attacked for allegedly crossing the “yellow line” that demarcates areas of Israeli army control.

“They had crossed the so-called ‘yellow line’, an imaginary boundary mentioned by the Israeli army,” said Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Gaza civil defence. “I am certain the family couldn’t distinguish between the yellow and red lines because there are no actual physical markers on the ground.”

Footage released by Gaza’s civil defence agency show the bodies of the family during the retrieval mission in conjunction with the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The victims include seven children and three women.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a “suspicious vehicle was identified crossing the yellow line and approaching IDF troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip”, adding: “The troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them. The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement.”

Israel and Hamas have continued to trade blame over breaches of the truce. Israel accused the militant group of violating the ceasefire agreement by failing to return the remains of deceased hostages. On Monday, Hamas returned the last 20 surviving hostages but has handed back only 10 of 28 deceased captives, saying it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.

Turkey has deployed dozens of disaster relief specialists to help search for bodies under the rubble. Efforts to recover bodies over a week into the ceasefire continue, with the Palestinian death toll now above 68,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Gaza’s civil defence agency estimates that the bodies of about 10,000 people are trapped under the debris and collapsed buildings. The task ahead of the rescuers is immense given that there is an estimated 60m tonnes of rubble across the territory.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Glenn.

Israel has violated ceasefire 47 times and killed 38 Palestinians, says Gaza media office
Authorities urge UN to intervene ‘to protect unarmed civilian populations’ after attack on bus that killed 11


.

googled this

From the Guardian activist MSM site and guess what...


says Gaza media office

YCNMIU

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...a-media-office

oh dear