Israeli forces killed seven members of a Palestinian family in a strike on their home in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian medical officials said. The attack at Shati refugee camp, on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, followed a separate shelling which killed three children and their mother in eastern Gaza City, said medical officials. They said that at least 12 civilians had been killed on Monday in total.
On the ground, Israeli forces on Monday pressed on with a deadly ground, sea and air assaults against Hamas. According to Reuters, an official from the Palestinian movement said a delegation would head for talks in Egypt, which has also launched contacts to achieve a ceasefire. Hamas was sending representatives to Egypt for talks for the first time since the fighting began, said Hamas' Ayman Taha.
Israeli aircraft bombed more than 30 targets overnight, including several homes of Hamas members used as weapons depots, tunnels and a suspected anti-aircraft rocket launcher, a military spokeswoman said. Israeli media said Israeli soldiers were searching house-to-house in parts of Gaza for Hamas suspects. Israel Radio reported gun battles between Israeli and Hamas fighters in the streets of Gaza City, and said Israeli troops thwarted an attempt to capture one of them in a fight inside a house.
On his part, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had recalled his special Mideast envoy for briefings, adding he was worried about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
