Resurgent Gaza conflict condemned by US and UN

The US and UN have condemned renewed violence in Gaza as negotiators struggle to reach agreement on the cessation of violence following a three-day ceasefire.

More than 20 Israeli aerial attacks were launched in Gaza on Saturday, killing five Palestinians. Militants fired rockets at Israel as the conflict entered a second month.

The air strikes lasted through the night. Medical officers in Gaza said two Palestinians were killed when their motorbike was bombed and the bodies of three others were found beneath the rubble of one of three bombed mosques.

The Israeli military said it had attacked more than 30 sites in Gaza since midnight where Hamas Islamists are dominant, but did not detail its argets.

Gaza militants fired six rockets at towns in southern Israel’s south but no damage or injuries resulted, said a spokeswoman.

Ceasefire deadlock

The White House condemned the resurgence of violence, and a spokesman expressed concern “about the safety and security of civilians on both sides of the conflict”.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged both sides “not to resort to further military action that can only exacerbate the already appalling humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

Israel had previously said it was ready to agree to an extension of the three-day ceasefire as Egyptian go-betweens pursued negotiations with Israeli and Palestinian delegates.

Violence has also increased in the occupied West Bank,where a Palestinian man died of a gunshot wound to the chest from a confrontation with Israeli soldiers in the city of Hebron, medical officials said.

Israeli troops shot and killed another Palestinian man on Friday at a protest near a Jewish settlement outside Ramallah, Israeli military officials said.

No sign of deal

The ceasefire expired on Friday but both sides were still far apart on the terms for renewing the deal and each side blaming the other for refusing to extend it.

Israel accused Hamas of firing several rockets about four hours before the deal expired at 8am local time – in total, Gaza militant fired 57 rockets at Israel throughout Friday.

Israel launched several air strikes in Gaza on Friday, killing five Palestinians, among them a 10-year-old boy near a mosque in Gaza City.

An Islamic Jihad militant and three other Palestinians were killed in the southern Gaza Strip.

Police said two people in Israel were injured by mortar fire from Gaza on Friday.

Gaza officials say the current conflict has killed 1,886 Palestinians, most of them civilians.

Israel says 64 of its soldiers and three civilians have died in the fighting that began on July 8, after a surge in Palestinian rocket salvoes into Israel.