 "Israeli shelling kills about 160 Palestinians; truce collapses")
Massive shelling by Israel today killed at least 160 people across the Hamas-ruled Gaza following the collapse of a 72-hour truce shortly after it began, while two of its soldiers died and another was believed to have been abducted by the Palestinian militant group.
The humanitarian ceasefire - brokered by the US and the UN to end more than three weeks of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip - collapsed just two hours after it began this morning.
Within hours, heavy shelling resumed in Rafah and air raid sirens were heard on the Israeli side.
Israeli forces also shot dead two Palestinians during separate clashes in the northern and central West Bank.
The attacks have injured more than 7,000 Palestinians.
The Palestinian toll in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza has surpassed that of Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 as the conflict entered its 25th day today.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 1,417 Palestinians were killed during Operation Cast Lead, which was the longest conflict between the two sides lasting 22 days, before the current fighting began.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said 51 rockets and mortar rounds hit Israel today, with another nine rockets shot down by the Iron Dome missile defence system.
Israeli army said two of its soldiers were killed and a third one may have been abducted by militants in the southern Gaza Strip today, raising the death count to 63 soldiers, including two Indian-origin, as compared to 10 in 2008-09. Nearly 400 soldiers have been injured.
Three Israeli civilians and a Thai national also died in rocket and mortar attacks.
"Initial indications suggest that a soldier has been abducted by terrorists in an incident where terrorists breached the ceasefire," Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner told reporters.
Hamas, which rules the narrow coastal strip, neither confirmed nor denied the abduction of the Israeli soldier. But it said Israel's announcement of the abduction was simply an excuse to "justify Israel's retreat from the truce."
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the collapse of the fragile ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Obama asked Hamas to show it is serious about wanting a ceasefire and for the release of the Israeli soldier reported captured earlier in the day.
The humanitarian ceasefire - brokered by the US and the UN to end more than three weeks of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip - collapsed just two hours after it began this morning.
Within hours, heavy shelling resumed in Rafah and air raid sirens were heard on the Israeli side.
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Across Gaza, 160 people were killed or died of their wounds today, including 65 in Rafah and 50 in Khan Yunis, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. The hostilities today took the Palestinian death toll to over 1,600, mostly civilians.
Israeli forces also shot dead two Palestinians during separate clashes in the northern and central West Bank.
The attacks have injured more than 7,000 Palestinians.
The Palestinian toll in the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza has surpassed that of Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 as the conflict entered its 25th day today.
According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, 1,417 Palestinians were killed during Operation Cast Lead, which was the longest conflict between the two sides lasting 22 days, before the current fighting began.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said 51 rockets and mortar rounds hit Israel today, with another nine rockets shot down by the Iron Dome missile defence system.
Israeli army said two of its soldiers were killed and a third one may have been abducted by militants in the southern Gaza Strip today, raising the death count to 63 soldiers, including two Indian-origin, as compared to 10 in 2008-09. Nearly 400 soldiers have been injured.
Three Israeli civilians and a Thai national also died in rocket and mortar attacks.
"Initial indications suggest that a soldier has been abducted by terrorists in an incident where terrorists breached the ceasefire," Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner told reporters.
Hamas, which rules the narrow coastal strip, neither confirmed nor denied the abduction of the Israeli soldier. But it said Israel's announcement of the abduction was simply an excuse to "justify Israel's retreat from the truce."
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the collapse of the fragile ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Obama asked Hamas to show it is serious about wanting a ceasefire and for the release of the Israeli soldier reported captured earlier in the day.