Death toll in Gaza hits 1,088 as Israel Continues it's Operation Gaza Genocide

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- At least 26 were killed and 241 

injured across the Gaza Strip on Monday night as Israel 

resumed its bombardment of the Gaza Strip from air, land, 

and sea.

Talks for a ceasefire, meanwhile, appeared stillborn after 

Israeli Prime Minister warned in a speech that the campaign 

could last long, even as Palestinian President Mahmoud 

Abbas rushed to Cairo to meet with Hamas representatives.

The renewed evening assault brought the total of 

Palestinians killed Monday to 44, while another 12 bodies 

were recovered from the rubble by medical teams earlier in 

the day. 

Gaza Ministry of Health Spokesman said over the last 21 

days, a total of 1,088 Palestinians have been killed and 

6,470 have been injured. Of the dead, 251 have been 

children and 50 have been elderly, while 1,980 children and 

259 elderly have been among the injured.

The figures include 10 people who were killed on Monday 

following an Israeli air strike on a children's playground in al-

Shati refugee camp in the afternoon, where family outings 

to celebrate the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday 

ended in horror with eight children among the dead.

Eyewitnesses told Ma'an that children had been wearing 

clothes given to them as gifts for the Eid and many families 

had chosen to take advantage of a relative lull in the 21-day 

assault to head to the park in the seaside neighborhood 

where the strike occurred.

Although Israel has blamed the deaths on a misfired Islamic 

Jihad rocket, Gaza police who inspected the rubble and 

victims' bodies as well as eyewitnesses confirmed the strike 

was Israeli.

Israel stepped up its bombardment Monday night in 

response to rocket fire by Palestinians, as well as a mortar 

fire that killed four soldiers in southern Israel.

The attack brought the total number of Israeli soldiers killed 

in the conflict to 43. Fewer than 10 percent of Israeli 

casualties have been civilian, while Gaza-based rights group 

estimate that Palestinian deaths have been more than 90 

percent civilian, including nearly 300 children.

Meanwhile, Israel had told at least 400,000 Palestinians in 

northern Gaza to evacuate their homes via text and phone, 

raising terror among Gazans that all those who stayed 

would be treated as legitimate targets.

All borders in and out of Gaza remain closed shut, as Israel 

has maintained its complete blockade of the tiny coastal 

enclave intact over the course of its 21-day assault.

A wounded Palestinian child is wheeled into Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital after an
explosion killed at eight children in a public playground in al-Shati refugee camp (AFP Mohammed Abed)

Abbas mission to Cairo 

Following increasingly urgent calls by the UN and the US for 

an "immediate ceasefire," a senior source in the West Bank 

said Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was heading to 

Cairo with Hamas representatives for fresh talks on ending 

the violence in Gaza.

"Abbas is forming a Palestinian delegation including Hamas 

and Islamic Jihad representatives to meet Egyptian leaders 

and discuss a halt to Israel's aggression against Gaza," the 

source told AFP, without saying when the talks would take 

place.

"The aim is to examine with Egyptian leaders how to meet 

Palestinian demands and put an end to the aggression," he 

said.

Earlier US President Barack Obama phoned Israeli Prime 

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand an "immediate, 

unconditional humanitarian ceasefire," in a call echoed hours 

later by the UN Security Council.

Obama's demand for an "immediate, unconditional" 

ceasefire has strained US-Israeli ties and put Netanyahu in 

a tight spot with hardliners in his government, 

commentators say.

It came after the UN Security Council appealed for both 

sides to accept an "immediate and unconditional 

humanitarian ceasefire" to permit the urgent delivery of aid, 

in a non-binding statement which elicited disappointment 

from the Palestinian envoy.

A woman reacts at the site of an explosion in a public playground in the
beachfront al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City (AFP Marco Longari)

'Eid of martyrs'

There was little mood for celebration in Gaza City as the 

three-day festival of Eid al-Fitr that ends the holy fasting 

month of Ramadan got under way.

Several hundred people arrived for early-morning prayers at 

the Al-Omari mosque, bowing and solemnly whispering their 

worship. But instead of going to feast with relatives, most 

went straight home while others went to pay their respects 

to the dead.

Among them was Ahed Shamali whose 16-year-old son who 

was killed by a tank shell several days ago.

"He was just a kid," he said, standing by the grave. "This is 

the Eid of the martyrs."

The deaths continue 

Ministry of Health Spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra provided a 

continuing toll of the deaths and injuries across the Gaza 

Strip Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The deaths and injuries are provided here in chronological 

order, with the most recent as the latest.

Six Palestinians were killed in airstrike on two homes in the 

central Gaza Strip. He named the victims as Ramzy Hossein 

al-Far, 68, Salam Muhammad al-Far, 59, Issa Kamel Musa, 

62, Abd al-Samad Mahmoud Ahmad Ramadan, 16, Ayman 

Adnan Musa Shokr, 25, and Azza Abd al-Karim al-Haman al-

Falleit, 44.

Fayeza Ahmad al-Futtah, 59, succumbed to wounds she 

received earlier in the day in Jabaliya.

Ali Hassan Hassan al-Huwwari, 31, died as a result of 

wounds received on July 21.

Mahmoud Abd al-Jalil Abu Kwik, 31, and fife others were 

injured in Gaza City.

Five Palestinians were killed and 20 injured in a strike near 

the Islamic University in Khan Younis. The dead were 

identified as Muhammad Jumaa Shaat, 30, Muhammad 

Fadhel al-Agha, Ahmad Nader al-Agha, Marwa Nader al-

Agha, Dalia Nader al-Agha.

Five were also killed and 20 injured in an Israeli strike on 

Khan Younis, which killed Najy Ahmad al-Raqqab, 19, Ramy 

Khaled al-Raqqab, 35, Mahmoud Osama al-Qosas, Shadi 

Abd al-Kareem Farwana, Mustafa Abd al-Samiee al-Ubadala.

Five were killed, including three children elderly, and 50 

were injured in shelling in Jabaliya. The dead were identified 

as Maryam Khalil Ruba, 70, Hani Abu Khalifah, a child 

named Yusef Emad Qaddoura, a child named Huna Emad 

Qaddoura, and another child named Muhammad Musa 

Alwan.

18 were injured in strikes across the central and northern 

Gaza Strip.

15 injured, mostly children, in an Israeli strike on Sheikh 

Radwan.

Yahiya Mohammad Abdullah al-Aqqad, 49, was killed and 

three more injured in a strike on al-Fakhari.

AFP contributed to this report.