Israel has withdrawn its ground forces out of the Gaza Strip and began a 72-hour truce with Hamas mediated by Egypt.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said military action would continue even after the army completes destroying cross-border tunnels.
As many people around the world celebrated the end of Ramadan, in Gaza Strip – battered by weeks of fighting – the holiday was marked by tears.
A 12-hour truce is in effect after Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza agreed to a UN request amid efforts to secure a long-term ceasefire.
Israeli forces say they were met with heavy resistance from Hamas when they pounded multiple sites across the Gaza Strip.
Mass casualties have been reported in the Shejaia district in north-east Gaza after an Israeli air strike.
Israel has resumed air strikes on Gaza following Hamas’s rejection of an Egyptian-proposed Gaza ceasefire.
The clashes broke during a ground operation on Gaza’s coast by Israeli commandos- the first ground assault since the offensive against Hamas began.
Egypt’s campaign to shut down smuggling tunnels running under its border into the Gaza Strip threatens to throw thousands of Palestinians out of work.
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/ 20 November 2012
The UN chief has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the US Secretary of State has headed to the region with a peace message.