Israel rejects ceasefire and calls up 16,000 extra troops

Israel’s prime minister says there will be no let up until Hamas “terror tunnels” are destroyed.

14:16 31 July 2014

Following his promise to destroy all Hamas “terror tunnels”, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now sent an additional 16,000 troops in Gaza to boost the number of reservists to 86,000.

He said: "I won’t agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security."

According to the army, half of the 32 secret passages have already been blown up. They expect that the entire operation will be concluded in a matter of days. Meanwhile, three Israeli soldiers were killed by a booby trap on Wednesday after it was detonated as they uncovered a tunnel shaft.

Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Deif said that the militants will not cease firing until their demands are met including lifting the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt on Gaza after Hamas seized the territory in 2007.

According to UN’s office for humanitarian affairs, nearly 1,300 Palestinians have died in the three weeks of fighting. Two thirds of them are civilians.

56 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in total on the Israeli side since the violence began at the start of July.