Gaza conflict: Hamas agrees to 24-hour truce, Israeli PM says not `obliged` to terrorists

Hamas on Sunday rejected Israel`s decision to extend by 24 hours a pause in hostilities in Gaza, saying Israeli tanks first had to withdraw from the territory.

Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha

In an interview to the CBS news, Netanyahu said that Israel`s security was of utmost concern to him and it didn`t matter if the global opinion turned against Israel with each civilian death in Gaza. Speaking to the CBS` "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated that Hamas was responsible for civilians` death as it was using them as "human shields", as Hamas wanted to gain global attention by letting more and more civilians die.

Fighting has reportedly subsided in Gaza after Hamas accepted a 24-hour ceasefire, despite Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu`s comments made in TV interviews that it wasn`t oblige to accept a truce as and when the terrorists agreed.

Even after Hamas accepted the truce, Israeli military says, the militants continue to fire. "5 outgoing rockets from a populated area in Gaza a short time ago." posted the Israeli Defense Forces.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian death toll has shot upto 10,50 according to Gazan health ministry.

Giving a legal face to its assaults on Gaza, Israeli Army on Sunday said that the civilian houses, if used for attacking, can be seen as "legitimate military targets under international law". Israel maintains that Hamas uses civilians as human shields and hides weapons in places as innocuous as schools, hospitals, etc.

When houses are used for military purposes, they may become legitimate military targets under international law. http://t.co/ZzLEh2cBsi

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 27, 2014

Speaking to the CNN`s State of the Union show, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says that Hamas is violating its own call for ceasefire and that Israel will do everything to defend its people. "Hamas doesn`t even accept its own ceasefire, it`s continuing to fire at us as we speak."

Israeli Army says it has so far found 32 terror tunnels used by Gaza militants to enter Israel. " 1 Hamas terror tunnel = enough building materials for 19 medical clinics. So far, 32 tunnels found," said a tweet by the IDF.

In a text messae, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said that the truce was agreed upon, taking into account the upcoming Eid Holiday and people`s conditions, reported the CNN.

"In response to the intervention by the United Nations and taking into account the conditions of our people and the upcoming Eid holiday, an accordance has been reached between Palestinian resistance groups to call a humanitarian calm for 24 hours," Zuhri said.

As Israeli assault batters Gaza City, Hamas has agreed to a 24-hour truce, starting at 2 pm (1100 GMT) Sunday, reports the Associated Press.

Further justifying its assault in Gaza, Israeli Army tweeted that though people in "India, UK and France" go about their business in a normal way, people in Israel have to live with the fear of rockets coming from Gaza.

While those in the UK, India and France go about their normal routine, Israelis have 15 seconds to run for shelter. http://t.co/HeJ28shdJf

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 27, 2014

It can be noted that in a UN vote, India had supported the resolution drafted by Palestinians, while UK and France abstained. After Hamas continued firing a barrage of rockets towards Israel, the Israeli Defence Forces on Sunday decided to resume its strikes and ground operation in Gaza, even as Palestinian death toll crossed 1000.

Due to Hamas' incessant rocket fire during the humanitarian window, we are renewing our aerial, naval and ground activity in Gaza.— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 27, 2014

Shortly after announcing the resuming of fire, Gaza residents reported heavy shelling in the east, reports said. Earlier, Israel had agreed to extend the humanitarian truce in Gaza for another 24 hours on the behest of the UN. A crisis cabinet meeting in Israel had extended Saturday`s truce until midnight on Sunday but an official added a warning that the Army will restart the firing if militants violated the humanitarian window. The Palestinian militants group Hamas on the other hand, rejected the truce, saying no ceasefire was possible until Israeli troops leaving Gaza and those displaced were allowed to return. "No humanitarian ceasefire is valid without Israeli tanks withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and without residents being able to return to their homes and ambulances carrying bodies being able to freely move around in Gaza," Hamas said in a statement. The Palestinian militants accuse that in the disguise of ceasefire, Israel buys more time to prepare for further attacks. During a 12-hour humanitarian window on Saturday, Palestinians scoured through the rubble and medics said that 150 more bodies had been found. According to the Gazan health ministry, 1033 have been killed, most of them being civilians and some 6000 injured in an operation that Israel started on July 8 to halt Hamas rockets. Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields, saying that the militants fire rockets from public places like hospitals, mosques, schools, etc. In a Twitter post, Israeli army wrote how Hamas militants hide explosives amonst civilians, writing, "Yesterday in a house in Gaza, the Maglan special forces unit found explosives two steps away from a baby`s bed".

The IDF has repeatedly urged the civilian population of Gaza not to approach combat zones.— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) July 27, 2014

Numerous diplomatic efforts to bring in a truce have ended in disappointment and both warrin sides continue to exchange fire as the violence enters its twentieth day. According to the UN, a whopping 80 percent of those killed are civilians and more than 120,000 Palestinians have been replaced. Nearly 200 children too, are among those killed, says the UNICEF.