Israel under mounting pressure for cease-fire

GAZA — Israel's government faced calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings fueled global concerns over the 10-week-old conflict in Gaza.

Israeli protesters are urging their government to renew negotiations with Gaza's Hamas rulers, whom Israel has vowed to destroy. Israel is also expected to face pressure to scale back major combat operations when US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits on Monday. Washington is expressing growing unease with civilian casualties even as it provides vital military and diplomatic support.

The conflict has flattened large parts of northern Gaza, killed thousands of civilians and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are in crowded shelters and tent camps. Some 1.9 million Palestinians — about 90 percent of Gaza's population — have fled their homes.

France's Foreign Ministry earlier said an employee was killed in an Israeli strike on a home in Rafah on Wednesday. It condemned the strike and demanded clarification from Israeli authorities.

The US defense secretary was set to travel to Israel to continue discussions on a timetable for ending the conflict's most intense phase.

Israeli forces launched deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, hitting a refugee camp in the north, a hospital in the south and killing a teenage girl who had lost her leg in an earlier strike, according to Palestinian officials, media and eyewitnesses.

Israeli strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed 90 Palestinians on Sunday, Gaza's health ministry spokesman told Reuters. Another missile attack on a house belonging to the Shehab family killed 24 people, Hamas' Aqsa radio said.

The son of Dawoud Shehab, spokesman of the Islamic Jihad, was among the dead, an official from the group told Reuters.

A medic said dozens of people had been killed or wounded in the Shehab family home and nearby buildings.

Dozens of desperate Palestinians surrounded aid trucks on Sunday after they drove in through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, forcing some to stop before climbing aboard, pulling down boxes and carrying them off.

Israel said aid passed directly from Israel into Gaza for the first time on Sunday, with 79 trucks entering from Kerem Shalom.

Key UN vote

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is gearing up for a crucial vote, possibly on Monday, on a draft resolution calling for the facilitation of aid to Gaza through various routes, diplomatic sources said on Sunday.

Earlier this month, the United States vetoed a draft resolution at the Security Council demanding an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, or SCA, announced on Sunday it was closely monitoring the impact of military tensions in the Red Sea, following major carriers taking alternative routes due to safety concerns.

SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said in a statement that maritime traffic was normal in the canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. He added that the SCA was closely evaluating the impact of certain shipping lines temporarily shifting their routes to the Cape of Good Hope.

The Houthis in Yemen have openly declared their intent to target all ships en route to Israel, irrespective of their national origin, to show solidarity with Hamas.

Agencies - Xinhua