Ceasefire 
rejected as Hamas battles 
blockade

Ismail Haniyeh’s comments came as UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry headed to Cairo for the highest-level talks after the violence erupted July 8.

More than 540 Palestinians and 20 Israelis have been killed in the past two weeks of fighting.

Last week, Egypt called for an unconditional ceasefire, to be followed by talks on easing the closure of Gaza. Israel accepted the proposal at the time, but Hamas rejected it, saying it wants guarantees first on lifting the closure.

The blockade was imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas overran Gaza in 2007. Over the past year, Egypt has further tightened restrictions, driving Hamas into a deep financial crisis.

Haniyeh said in a televised speech that “we cannot go back, we cannot go back to the silent death” of the blockade.

He said all of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents shared this demand.

“Gaza has decided to end the blockade by its blood and by its courage,” he said. “This siege, this unjust siege, must be lifted.”

President Barack Obama has called for the international community to focus on ending the fighting, voicing fresh concern about civilian casualties, but reaffirmed his belief that Israel has the right to defend itself against rockets launched by Hamas into Israel.

Yet he contended that Israel’s military action in Gaza had already done “significant damage” to the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and said he doesn’t want to see more civilians getting killed.

“We have serious concerns about the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths and the loss of Israeli lives,” Mr Obama said.

“And that is why it now has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a ceasefire that ends the fighting and can stop the deaths of innocent civilians, both in Gaza and in Israel.”

The Obama administration, including Mr Kerry, has criticised Hamas for its rocket attacks on Israel and other provocative acts, like tunnelling under the border. It is also toning down an earlier rebuke of Israel for attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians, including children.

Hamas has rejected the Egyptian plan and is relying on an alternative proposal put forward by the governments of Qatar and Turkey. Qatar and Turkey have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is also linked to Hamas but banned in Egypt.

Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Israel to “exercise restraint” and avoid civilian casualties in a Commons statement.

He said the Government backed UN resolutions aimed at tackling the ongoing crisis.

Mr Cameron said after an “unprecedented barrage” of 1,850 rockets, Israel had a right to defend itself but told MPs: “I share the grave concern in the international community about the heavy toll on civilian casualties – the figures are very disturbing.”