Horrifying Pictures of Israel-Palestine Conflict; Death Toll Rises to 110 [PHOTOS]
A weeklong conflict has taken the Palestinian death toll to at least 110 though Israel has temporarily put on hold a possible ground attack on Gaza, Palestine, following pressure from several quarters.
Palestinians carry the body of a child during a mass funeral in Gaza CityReuters
A file photo of smoke and explosion after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City.Reuters
Palestinians pray next to the bodies of members of the al-Dalo family during their funeral in Gaza CityReuters
Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza StripReuters
Israeli soldiers prepare near armoured military vehicles at a staging area outside the northern Gaza StripReuters
Palestinian carry the bodies of two boys during their funeral in Beit Lahiya in the northern GazaReuters
Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza StripReuters
Palestinian boy walks past a destroyed building in which a painting depicting the Dome of the Rock can be seen, after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza CityReuters
Palestinians inspect a destroyed house after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza StripReuters
Man buries Mohammed Hejazi, a Palestinian boy, at a cemetery in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza StripReuters
Israeli soldier loads ammunition into machine gun of tank near border with GazaReuters
Picture of a child lies among the rubble of a destroyed house, after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike, in Gaza CityReuters
Israeli soldier sleeps at a staging area near border with GazaReuters
Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza CityReuters
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip towards IsraelReuters
Palestinians inspect destroyed houses after what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza CityReuters
Israeli soldier prays atop a tank near border with GazaReuters
Palestinian walks past Islamic National Bank after it was destroyed in what witnesses said was an Israeli air strike in Gaza CityReuters
Displaced Palestinian boy looks up as he stays at a U.N.-run school in Gaza CityReuters
Palestinians evacuate wounded man after Israeli air strike on floor in a building that also houses media offices in Gaza CityReuters
Black smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the central Gaza Strip towards IsraelReuters
An Israeli air force F15-E fighter jet takes off for a mission over the Gaza Strip, from the Tel Nof air base in central IsraelReuters
Palestinians evacuate wounded man after Israeli air strike on floor in a building that also houses media offices in Gaza CityReuters
Palestinians gather around a destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza StripReuters
A Palestinian medic helps evacuate a wounded woman after an Israeli air strike in Gaza CityReuters
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child from under the rubble of a house after an Israeli air strike in GazaReuters
Displaced Palestinians ride in a flatbed truck as they make their way to a U.N.-run school in Gaza CityReuters
A weeklong conflict has taken the Palestinian death toll to at least 110 though Israel has temporarily put on hold a possible ground attack on Gaza, Palestine, following pressure from several quarters.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for talks on the conflict, has called for immediate ceasefire in Gaza and warned that ground invasion would be a "dangerous escalation."
At least 110 Palestinians, including 27 children, and three Israelis have died as Palestinian rocket firing and Israeli air strikes continued for the seventh day.
Hamas militants said that Israel's military targeted at least 100 sites in Gaza including the Islamic National Bank overnight, after which they fired 16 missiles at Beersheba in retaliation.
The Israel government in a late night cabinet meeting decided to temporarily put on hold its plan to send ground forces to Gaza to see how far the ceasefire efforts go.
"Before deciding on a ground invasion, the prime minister intends to exhaust the diplomatic move in order to see if a long-term ceasefire can be achieved," a senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters after the meeting.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and is scheduled to meet Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also going to the Middle East for talks in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo, and is expected to meet Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to calm down the conflict.
"The two leaders discussed ways to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, and President Obama underscored the necessity of Hamas ending rocket fire into Israel," the White House said on Obama's talks with Egypt President Mohamed Mursi.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil is optimistic that ceasefire is possible even as Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said Israel should take the first step to restore calm.
"We would prefer to see a diplomatic solution that would guarantee the peace for Israel's population in the south. If that is possible, then a ground operation would no longer be required," an official close to Netanyahu told Reuters. (With Inputs from Reuters)