Nilay Kar
14 July 2018•Update: 15 July 2018
By Nour Mahd Ali Abu Aisha and Gulsen Topcu
GAZA
Palestinian resistance group Hamas said on Saturday that Egypt contacted them for a cease-fire in Gaza with Israel.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that officials from Egypt and some international sides, which he did not name, had contacted them.
Qassem said that he had told the sides that Israel started launching the airstrikes on Gaza and the side -- which has to stop the strikes -- had to be Israel.
His remarks came after Israeli warplanes carried out a fresh wave of airstrikes across the blockaded Gaza Strip on Saturday, martyring two Palestinian children.
Stating that Hamas’ stance over the cease-fire was “clear”, Qassem also said that Palestinian groups would take a joint stance after consulting each other.
No statement has been provided by Egypt yet.
Israeli warplanes targeted an under-construction building in al-Katiba neighborhood in Gaza on Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Amir al-Nimra, 15, and Luey Kuheyl ,14, were confirmed dead and 25 others were wounded in the airstrikes, according to the ministry.
Earlier, in a statement, the Israeli army said the attacks targeted 40 military sites belonging to Hamas in the northern city of Beit Lahiya.
The army added that 91 rockets were allegedly fired from Gaza to the Israeli side since morning.
IHH office damaged
Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH)’s office in Gaza was also damaged by the airstrikes, according to the foundation’s official.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mahmud es-Surafa said bombing near the office building damaged the windows and doors.
Saturday’s attacks were the largest since 2014 when the Israeli army launched a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2,000 Palestinians and injuring thousands.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli army said it had destroyed two underground tunnels in airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
Tension has been running high across the Gaza Strip amid protests demanding an end to the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and lifting an 11-year blockade, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of basic commodities.
Since the protests began in March, more than 130 people have been killed – and thousands more injured – by Israeli army fire.
