GAZA: Israeli forces kept up their bombardment of Gaza on Monday after diplomatic efforts to arrange a ceasefire to allow foreign passport holders to leave and aid to be brought into the besieged Palestinian enclave failed.
Residents of Gaza said overnight air strikes were the heaviest yet as the conflict entered its 10th day with an Israeli ground offensive believed to be imminent.
Bombing carried on through the day, they said, and many buildings were flattened, trapping yet more people under the rubble.
Israel's chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said there was no Gaza ceasefire and that Israel was continuing its operations.
"There are no such efforts under way at this time. If anything changes we will inform the public. We are continuing our fight against Hamas, this murderous organisation that carried this out."
Israel has imposed a full blockade and is preparing a ground invasion to enter Gaza and destroy Hamas, which has continued to fire rockets at Israel since its brief cross-border assault. On Monday, rocket-warning sirens sounded in several towns in southern Israel, the Israeli military said.
Authorities in Gaza said at least 2,750 people had so far been killed by the Israeli strikes, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. A further 1,000 people were missing and believed to be under rubble.
Hundreds of tonnes of aid from several countries have been held up in Egypt pending a deal for its safe delivery to Gaza and the evacuation of some foreign passport holders through the Rafah border crossing.
Hamas official Izzat El Reshiq said that there was "no truth" to the reports about the crossing opening or a temporary ceasefire.
The United States had told its citizens in Gaza to go to the crossing. The US government estimates the number of dual-citizen Palestinian-Americans in Gaza at 500 to 600.
In Gaza's north, where Israel says Hamas fighters are hiding in an elaborate tunnel network, local people said Israeli aircraft bombed areas around the Al-Quds hospital early on Monday. Surrounding houses were damaged, forcing hundreds of people to take shelter in the Red Crescent-run hospital.
Israeli planes also bombed three headquarters of the Civil Emergency and Ambulance Service in Gaza City, killing five people and paralysing the rescue services in those areas, health officials said. — Reuters
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