A Palestinian protester, armed with a slingshot, aims a volley at Israeli troops during clashes at a protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Mohamad Torokman took this photo at the Qalandia checkpoint, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, on July 24, 2014.
More than 1,000 people have now died in battles between Israeli forces and Hamas, most of them civilians. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting early Monday to demand “an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.”
Ceasefires have been short-lived, but Monday saw an abatement in operations on both sides at the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. MSNBC reports that only one rocket was fired out Gaza in the first nine hours of Monday, while Gaza residents reported no casualties from tank shelling.
“This cease-fire or abatement is dynamic on the ground. If we need to, we will respond,” Israeli Brigadier General Motti Almoz told the network’s reporters.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that Israel claims it didn’t kill Palestinians sheltering at a UN-run school. “It was not immediately possible to reconcile the accounts” of the deaths,” wrote Isabel Kershner and Ben Hubbard.
An Israeli army officer gives journalists a tour of a captured tunnel said to be used by Palestinian militants for cross-border attacks, on July 25, 2014. Photo: Jack Guez/Pool
Israeli APCs emerge from the Gaza Strip on July 25, 2014, in this photo taken by Nir Elias.
In Tunisia, pro-Palestine demonstrators shout slogans in protest against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Anis Mili took this photo at Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis on July 25, 2014.
An Israeli armored personnel carrier drives back into Israel after crossing the border with Gaza on July 28, 2014. Photo: Baz Ratner
Palestinian children hold toy guns during a protest on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, early Monday. Photo: Ammar Awad
Demonstrators wave Israeli flags during a rally in support of the Israeli offensive at its embassy in Brussels on Sunday. Photo: Francois Lenoir
A boy sells balloons outside Jerusalem’s Old City during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, July 28, 2014. Photo: Ammar Awad