Israeli Fresh Air Strikes in Gaza

KABUL: (Middle East Press) Thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in neighborhoods of eastern Gaza on Tuesday, carrying bags of clothes, pillows and mattresses after renewed Israeli air strikes, witnesses said.

Israel ordered its negotiators back from talks in Cairo and warplanes hit targets in Gaza after claiming that Palestinian rockets smashed into the country’s south as the two sides were observing a 24-hour truce, on Tuesday.

Nine days of relative quiet in the skies over Gaza came to an sudden halt under a pretext in which Israeli officials announced three rockets struck southern Israel just hours before the truce was to expire at midnight local time.

Israel immediately ordered a military response, with warplanes striking targets.

Two boys aged six and nine were wounded in the southern city of Rafah, the Palestinian emergency services spokesman said.

However, Hamas officials blame Israel for a breakdown in talks in Cairo aimed at reaching a lasting ceasefire as a temporary truce was on the edge of collapsing.

The United Nations said Monday that more than 237,600 Palestinians were already seeking shelter at 81 UN schools across the Gaza Strip.