Gaza's 3-Day Ceasefire Lasts 90 Minutes

Israel says soldier is captured amid new clashes
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 1, 2014 4:09 AM CDT
Updated Aug 1, 2014 7:56 AM CDT
After Heavy Fighting, Gaza Truce Goes Into Effect
A Palestinian woman stands near the rubble of destroyed houses in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, Friday.   (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

It was supposed to last three days, but a ceasefire that went into effect this morning in Israel and Gaza unraveled within two hours. Violence erupted in and around the southern town of Rafah, with 35 Palestinians killed by Israeli shelling and the military saying one of its soldiers may have been abducted. Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaking the ceasefire, which had been announced by the US and the UN. Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra told the AP that in addition to the dead, about 200 Palestinians were wounded in the "random" Israeli shelling of the Rafah area in southern Gaza.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said one of its soldiers was "feared" abducted, without providing further details, and that Gaza militants had fired eight rockets and mortars at Israel since the ceasefire began, one of which was intercepted. "The ceasefire is over," a spokesman for the Israeli military is quoted as saying in the New York Times. The soldier was reportedly captured about 90 minutes after the ceasefire began during a tunnel-clearing mission, and two other soldiers were killed in the same mission. The ceasefire allows Israel to continue destroying the Hamas tunnels. (More Israel and Palestinians stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X