DAVID GREENE, HOST:
The latest cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has now collapsed. Since fighting resumed yesterday, Palestinian officials say 11 people have been killed - and that includes children. Gaza militants launched rockets toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, several of them were intercepted by Israel's missile defense system. NPR's Philip Reeves reports from Gaza City.
PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: Nearly a week of diplomacy, led by Egypt, has come to nothing. Israel says militants in Gaza were at fault. It says yesterday they violated a cease-fire by firing a volley of rockets into Israel. Israel's armed forces retaliated with missile strikes continuing off and on through the night. Their targets appear to have included the veteran head of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Deif. Palestinian sources say Deif's wife and two-year-old daughter were killed, but not Deif himself. He has a long record of surviving assassination attempts. Israel says Hamas militants and others have fired more than 70 rockets since yesterday's cease-fire violation. The Israeli military has recalled for duty 2000 Army reservists sent home a few weeks back. Egyptian officials are said to be pressing for a new cease-fire and a return to indirect talks. The chances seem slim. Palestinian officials say the death toll in Gaza has risen above 2000 since the war began last month. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have also been killed. Now both sides are bracing for more conflict. Philip Reeves, NPR News, Gaza. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
