Palestine Massacre Continues: Hamas Violates Ceasefire, Israel Promises to ‘Broaden Offensive’ in Reply

The massacre in Palestine continues but now the civilians in the country may start accusing Hamas of being responsible for further bloodshed.

Egypt proposed a ceasefire amid the on-going Gaza crisis, which Israel accepted on Tuesday. However, it was Hamas which could not apparently tolerate the much-awaited calm in their country. It started firing rockets at Israel within hours of the declared ceasefire. The military wing of the organization said that it would continue to do so until their "conditions" were met. Even though Israel held fire for six hours, it resumed bombing in reply.

Even though Israel has been harshly criticized by the international community for being responsible for the killings so far, it is Hamas which now refuses to put an end to the misery of their own people. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that they had not been consulted before declaring the ceasefire. Hamas came to know about the ceasefire through media, he said. "This so-called plan was drawn up by others without consulting Hamas. It is something organised by the Egyptians and the Israelis. Is it a trap? Yes I think it is." Zuhri said while referring to a photocopied sheet.

One may wonder which trap Zuhri was referring to when the ceasefire seemed to be the only option to save hundreds of lives in Palestine. Around 400 children and 250 women have already been injured while there were 36 children among 138 casualties. The number of deaths in the Gaza Strip has almost reached 200 now, and, according to a UN report, 77 per cent of them are civilians. There was major concern in the report about the violation of the international humanitarian law.

Meanwhile, the first case of Israeli casualty was reported as 37-year-old Dor Chanin was killed by Hamas rockets at Erez crossing. The violation of ceasefire apparently infuriated Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu who blamed it on Hamas for further damage. "We will significantly broaden our offensive against Hamas. Hamas is leaving us no choice," he said.

Meanwhile, it is the civilians who continue to pay the price for the political conflict.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au