UN Chief's Gaza Truce Bid As Deaths Reach 300

As the head of the United Nations prepares to visit Israelis and Palestinians to try to end the violence in Gaza, 11 Palestinians are said to have been killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon will try to secure "a lasting" resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas when he visits the region, a senior UN official said at a UN Security Council emergency meeting last night.

The UN refused to say where Ban was heading because of security reasons, but said he wants to "express solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians," so he will almost certainly visit both sides.

The Palestinian UN representative, meanwhile, threatened to go to UN and international courts if the Security Council did not act to protect Palestinian civilians from Israeli attacks.

Eleven Palestinians were reportedly killed by airstrikes overnight

Riyad Mansour said that Israel's "savage" aggression into Gaza could not be justified "by any means".

But in turn, Israel's ambassador held Hamas responsible for the continuing violence, saying it "lives by violence and celebrates death".

Around 300 Palestinians have been killed since fighting began 11 days ago, with another 2,000 injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza. One fifth of those have been children.

Figures provided by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights show that civilians account for more than 80% of the victims of Israel's assault since July 8.

Israeli soldiers stand on top of tanks and armoured personnel carriers

Overnight, a strike killed seven people outside a mosque in the southern city of Khan Yunis, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al Qudra said. Three of the dead were from the same family.

Shortly afterwards four more people were killed in three separate strikes in Beit Hanun in the north, Deir al Balah in central Gaza, and another in Khan Yunis.

Israel launched a ground offensive on Thursday, starting a new phase in the operation which it said aimed partly to destroy an underground network of tunnels used by Hamas.

It is the first major Israeli ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years.

An Israeli Defence Force photo of apparent Hamas tunnels

The army has confirmed that a draft of 18,000 additional reserve soldiers has been authorised by the government on top of the 30,000 already deployed.

Israel's military said on Friday that it was ready for a "significant expansion" of a ground offensive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned: "My instructions are to prepare for the possibility of significantly widening the ground operation, and the military is preparing accordingly."

While the UN has condemned the indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, it says it is "alarmed by Israel's heavy response".

The UN has said it is stepping up emergency aid to Gaza, where Israel's military offensive has worsened water shortages and raised fears of increased sewage contamination and water-borne diseases.

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Inside Gaza: Constant Airstrikes And Shelling

The sound of airstrikes from above and artillery fire from the sea is constant in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched a major ground offensive, Sky's Sherine Tadros reports from inside the Palestinian territory.

More than 100 targets were hit in the first 10 hours of the assault - which Israeli authorities say is aimed at Hamas and other groups who have been firing rockets at Israel - and Palestinians fear this could be "just the beginning of the ground assault".

Tadros said smokescreens were visible in northern Gaza, indicating that Israeli tanks could be as far inland as 3-4 miles (5-7km).

Israel stepped up its ground offensive in Gaza early on Friday

"We've also been seeing Palestinian rocket fire coming from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel, so that is clearly also continuing," she said.

"Palestinian fighters are trying to make the point they are still here and they are still fighting."

The Israeli military spent the early hours of the assault moving through the buffer zone along the Israel-Gaza border, Tadros said.

Smoke rises following what witnesses said were Israeli air strikes in Gaza

The Israeli authorities said they were clearing tunnels that they claim Palestinian militants use to try to infiltrate Israel.

"Israel says it is targeting terror tunnels but Palestinians really don't know what that means," Tadros said.

Overnight, power outages across the Gaza Strip left many areas in darkness.

An Israeli soldier stands near a mobile artillery unit outside Gaza

"It started in the northern part about 20 minutes or so before we heard the ground operation was under way," Tadros said.

She said flares fired from the Israeli side of the border were used to light up parts of the territory - a move that was then followed by renewed artillery fire or guided missile strikes. 

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Rebels Agree To 'Security Zone' At Crash Site

Pro-Russian separatists have agreed to set up a "security zone" around the Malaysia Airlines crash scene amid reports of looting and evidence being compromised.

Ukraine said talks between the two sides "concluded with an agreement to set up a 20km (12 miles) security zone so that Ukraine could fulfil the most important thing - identify the bodies (and) hand them over to relatives".

Concerns have been raised about the investigation into the plane disaster after a team of 30 international observers complained they were confronted by aggressive armed rebels who restricted their access to the crash site.

Security monitors speak to a separatist at the crash scene

Critically, they said they were unable to speak to anyone about the whereabouts of the jet's two black box voice and data recorders.

Six air accident investigators from Britain and a Malaysian disaster response team are due in the capital Kiev later.

Reports of looting have also emerged as victims' bodies and belongings remain strewn across the area two days after the crash.

Sky's Michelle Clifford, in Donetsk, said: "These disturbing reports are gaining currency about looting at the site, that valuables, credit cards are being taken from bags from the wreckage, and in some cases from bodies.

The debris was scattered over a wide area

"I think we should also see these reports in the context of a propaganda war. It may be part of a narrative to discredit the rebels.

"But, I have just spoken to somebody, a contact I know very well and trust, and he said with his own eyes he saw the rebels taking money and valuables from luggage at the site."

Some 298 people, including 10 Britons and 80 children were killed when flight MH17 was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk.

The British Government has joined the United States in blaming pro-Russian separatists for the catastrophe.

A children's toy lies among the passengers' possessions

Downing Street said it appeared "increasingly likely" a surface-to-air missile had been fired from near Torez, in territory controlled by rebels seeking closer ties to Moscow.

US ambassador Samantha Power said Washington could not rule out the possibility that Russia offered help to separatists to launch the missile, believed to be an SA-11.

The Boeing 777-200 was flying on an established route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that had been declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

It came down close to where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists, with both sides blaming each other for the disaster.

British victims Richard Mayne, Ben Pocock, Glenn Thomas and Liam Sweeney

Ukraine condemned the "act of terrorism" and released what it claimed was a recording of an intercepted phone call between two Russian military intelligence officers, discussing the downing of the plane.

In an unverified video, apparently taken moments after the plane was hit, an alleged pro-Russian rebel boasts: "Wow, that was a blast."

However, Russia pointed the finger at its neighbour, saying it picked up radar activity from a Ukrainian Buk missile system south of Donetsk when the aircraft came down.

:: The Foreign Office has set up a helpline for anyone concerned.  Text MH17 to +447860010026, or call 020 7008 1500. Malaysia Airlines's emergency line is 00 6 037 884 1234.

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Answers Demanded After Jet 'Blown Out Of Sky'

World leaders are demanding an international investigation after a passenger plane was allegedly shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur at an altitude of 33,000ft (10,000m) when contact was lost yesterday afternoon and it crashed near the border with Russia.

An adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry said the Boeing 777 was hit by a Buk ground-to-air missile. US intelligence also concluded a surface-to-air missile had brought the plane down.

An emergency worker at the scene of the crash

Authorities in Kiev said pro-Russian separatists were to blame, as President Petro Poroshenko called it an "act of terrorism".

However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai said the aircraft was shot down by Ukrainian government forces - and another separatist claimed the rebels did not have weapons capable of shooting down a plane at such height.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "The state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility."

Flames rise from wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines jet

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott criticised Russia's attitude, saying the crash was "not an accident, but a crime".

"I have to tell you that the initial response of the Russian ambassador was to blame Ukraine for this, and I have to say that this is deeply, deeply unsatisfactory," he said.

Among the 283 passengers and 15 crew on board were nine Britons, 154 Dutch, 43 Malaysians, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos and one Canadian.

Three infants are among the dead, and the nationalities of 41 passengers have yet to be verified.

Many of the passengers were on their way to an International Aids Society (IAS) conference in Melbourne, and the Society has said they may have included one of its former presidents, Joep Lange.

Plumes of thick, black smoke could be seen rising high into the air near the village of Grabovo, Donetsk, where the airliner came down.

Flight MH17 taking off at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands

The cockpit and one of the turbines were over half a mile apart, and residents said the tail was about six miles away, indicating the aircraft most likely broke up before hitting the ground.

Pro-Russian separatists in the region said they had found one of the "black box" recorders and rescue workers have recovered a second flight recorder.

Britain has joined the US and other countries in calling for an international probe into the disaster. US President Barack Obama has said it should be "prompt, full, credible and unimpeded".

The last known location of flight MH17

US Vice-President Joe Biden said the jet appeared to have been deliberately "blown out of the sky", with an unnamed US official blaming Ukrainian separatists backed by Russia.

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Moscow, said Igor Strelkov, the commander of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic, appeared to have boasted about the incident on social media.

In one deleted message recovered by Sky News, he allegedly wrote: "We warned you not to fly over our sky."

Armed Russian separatists inspect the wreckage

Ukraine's security service also released what it claimed was a recording of an intercepted phone call between two Russian military intelligence officers, discussing the downing of the plane.

Sky's Mark White said the aircraft had been flying just 1,000ft (300m) above a zone deemed "unsuitable for civilian aircraft".

The wreckage was scattered over a wide area

However Malaysia Airlines has said the route taken by flight MH17 had been declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The operator, still reeling from the loss of flight MH370 in March, has announced all its European flights will be taking alternative routes with immediate effect.

A distressed woman waits for information in Kuala Lumpur

The disaster is the latest in a series of reported attacks on planes in Ukrainian airspace and came a day after one of the country's Sukhoi-25 fighter jets was shot down.

The United Nations Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine later today.

:: Malaysia Airlines has set up an emergency line for worried relatives: 00 6 037 884 1234.

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Inside Gaza: Constant Airstrikes And Shelling

The sound of airstrikes from above and artillery fire from the sea is constant in the Gaza Strip after Israel launched a major ground offensive, Sky's Sherine Tadros reports from inside the Palestinian territory.

More than 100 targets were hit in the first 10 hours of the assault - which Israeli authorities say is aimed at Hamas and other groups who have been firing rockets at Israel - and Palestinians fear this could be "just the beginning of the ground assault".

Tadros said smokescreens were visible in northern Gaza, indicating that Israeli tanks could be as far inland as 3-4 miles (5-7km).

Israeli troops crossed the border into Gaza overnight

"We've also been seeing Palestinian rocket fire coming from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel, so that is clearly also continuing," she said.

"Palestinian fighters are trying to make the point they are still here and they are still fighting."

Smokescreens in the distance indicate Israeli tank movements

The Israeli military spent the early hours of the assault moving through the buffer zone along the Israel-Gaza border, Tadros said.

The Israeli authorities said they were clearing tunnels that they claim Palestinian militants use to try to infiltrate Israel.

"Israel says it is targeting terror tunnels but Palestinians really don't know what that means," Tadros said.

Palestinian authorities say the majority of casualties are civilians

Overnight, power outages across the Gaza Strip left many areas in darkness.

"It started in the northern part about 20 minutes or so before we heard the ground operation was under way," Tadros said.

She said flares fired from the Israeli side of the border were used to light up parts of the territory - a move that was then followed by renewed artillery fire or guided missile strikes. 

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Israeli Soldier And 11 Palestinians Die In Gaza

An Israeli soldier and at least 11 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli military launched a large-scale ground campaign in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials.

The offensive was aimed at destroying the weapons arsenal and infrastructure of Hamas, Israeli officials said.

"The prime minister and defence minister have instructed the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to begin a ground operation tonight in order to hit the terror tunnels from Gaza into Israel," said a statement from Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

By daylight IDF reported it had "neutralised 14 terrorists, destroyed 20 rocket launchers, carried out nine strikes on tunnels and hit a total of 103 terror targets".

Flares fired by the Israeli military are seen above Gaza

Israel named the soldier "killed fighting Hamas terrorists" as Sgt Eitan Barak. The country's media is investigating the possibility he was a victim of so-called friendly fire.

A Hamas spokesman called the ground offensive "foolish", adding that Israel would "pay a heavy price".

Four members of one family in Khan Younis were among the dead, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. 

Sgt Eitan Barak, killed in fighting overnight. Pic: Israeli Defence Force

Meanwhile, Israel claimed 50 rockets were fired from Gaza overnight - 25 slamming into its territory.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros, on the ground in Gaza, reported heavy shelling and bombardment.

She said: "The power has gone out over most of Gaza so we can't see very much, but what we can hear is terrifying.

"We have heard the sounds of constant bombardment coming from the naval ships for the past few hours. We have also seen flares lobbed over essentially to light up targets in Gaza and they were then shelled by the naval ships.

A father comforts his daughter, injured by an explosion overnight in Gaza

"We have also been hearing airstrikes and reports of many casualties going to the various hospitals.

"The power outage is causing havoc."

Gaza health officials said eight Palestinians were killed in the early stage of the operation, including a three-month-old boy who died after a shell hit his family's Bedouin tent in southern Gaza.

The operation comes after 10 days of intense fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas.

The view over Gaza on Friday morning

It is the first major Israeli ground offensive in Gaza in just over five years. 

The army has confirmed that a draft of 18,000 more reserve soldiers has been authorised by the government.      

Mr Netanyahu's chief spokesman Mark Regev told Sky News the decision to launch the offensive had not been taken "lightly" but that action needed to be taken to "protect our citizens".

He said the chance of a ceasefire is now very unlikely: "This operation is only happening because Hamas rejected the ceasefire proposal supported by Egypt, a proposal supported by the United Nations.

Israeli tanks sit next to a gap in the wall seperating Gaza and Israel

"Hamas alone torpedoed the chance of a ceasefire and now Hamas is paying the price," Mr Regev said.

Earlier, Israel said it had foiled an attack by 13 Palestinian gunmen who tunnelled in from Gaza.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said the operation was destined to fail, in remarks to AFP in the Qatari capital.

"What the occupier Israel failed to achieve through its air and sea raids, it will not be able to achieve with a ground offensive. It is bound to fail," Mr Meshaal said from his exile in Doha.

Israeli troops preparing for the incursion. Pic: Israeli Defence Force

Egypt's foreign ministry denounced Israel's "escalation" in Gaza and again demanded both sides accept a Cairo-proposed truce.

The ground campaign followed a brief truce earlier on Thursday in which Israel held fire to allow Gazans to stock up on food and other necessities after being largely holed up at home since the conflict began last month.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he regrets the escalation in Israel-Palestinian hostilities and urged Israel to do more to stop civilian deaths.

Nightvision photo of Israeli troops in Gaza. Pic: Israeli Defence Force

Israeli strikes have hit more than 2,000 targets in Gaza and Hamas launched nearly 1,500 rockets at Israel, the Israeli military has said.

Gaza health officials said 237 Palestinians, most of them civilians, had been killed since Israel began the air and sea offensive on July 8.

Israel has confirmed one death in the conflict.

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Putin: Sanctions Could Cause 'Serious Damage'

Vladimir Putin has warned a fresh wave of sanctions will take US relations with Russia to "a dead end" and damage America's business interests.

The US and the EU have stepped up measures over what is viewed as Russia's interference in Ukraine.

President Barack Obama has imposed the most wide-ranging sanctions yet, targeting major banks, energy and defence firms including Gazprombank and Rosneft Oil Co.

Steps are also being taken to prevent rebel groups and senior officials in Ukraine getting hold of funds.

"Sanctions have a boomerang effect and without any doubt they will push US-Russian relations into a dead end, and cause very serious damage," Mr Putin said.

Mr Obama announces fresh wave of sanctions

"And I am convinced that this will harm the national long-term interests of the American state, the American people."

Mr Obama said the US measures were "significant but targeted".

"I've repeatedly made it clear that Russia must halt the flow of weapons and fighters across the border into Ukraine.

"So far, Russia has failed to take any of the steps that I mentioned."

Meanwhile, EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed a more limited package.

They agreed to impose asset freezes against around 11 more individuals but said measures will be expanded significantly at the end of July to cover "entities and persons" helping to undermine Ukraine's "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence".

The European Commission will also "reassess and potentially suspend" co-operation programmes with Russia.

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Afghanistan: Militants Attack Kabul Airport

Taliban militants have used rockets to attack Kabul International Airport in a siege that lasted four hours.

Two nearby buildings were taken over by the insurgents, who fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades towards the complex and ISAF jet fighters flying over the Afghan capital.

No planes were damaged at the airport - which is also used as a base by Nato-led forces - and all civilian flights were suspended during the assault.

Afghan forces arrive at the scene of the attack on Kabul Airport

Officials said the attackers were surrounded by Afghan forces and killed.

Gul Agha Hashimi, a senior police official, said: "The attack is over, and the area is cleared from the insurgents. All the insurgents who were holed up in an under-construction building were killed."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack which comes as foreign troops prepare to leave the war-torn country by the end of the year, and after a disputed presidential election.

The two candidates, former finance minister Ashraf Ghani and ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, have agreed to an audit of all eight million ballots which is expected to take around three weeks following claims of widespread fraud by both camps.

A suicide car bombing in eastern Afghanistan killed 89 people on Tuesday

It is not the first time the airport has come under fire from the Taliban.

Militants destroyed four choppers, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai's helicopter, in an attack earlier this month.

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives near a busy market and mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing 89 people.

The explosion took place in the town of Urgun in Paktika province, close to the border with Pakistan, where the military has been attacking Pakistani Taliban hideouts.

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Israeli Forces 'Foil Palestinian Tunnel Attack'

The Israeli military has said it has foiled an attack by 13 Palestinian gunmen who tunnelled in from Gaza, as a temporary truce gets under way.

A spokesman said the Hamas fighters were identified some 820ft (250 metres) inside Israel and were struck by aircraft.

He said at least one militant was killed and the remaining fighters appeared to have returned to Gaza through the tunnel which they had been digging for some time.

They were heading towards Sufa kibbutz, a small community about a mile away, when they were spotted. 

It is the second time Palestinian fighters have infiltrated Israel from Gaza. Last week four were killed as they attempted to enter from the sea.

Gaza City (foreground) and the Israeli city of Ashkelon (background)

It comes amid reports Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Both sides agreed to halt fighting for five hours on humanitarian grounds on Thursday, while efforts continue to broker a longer-term truce.

A senior Israeli official said his country had agreed to a five-hour ceasefire put forward by the United Nations, starting at 10am local time (8am BST).

A Hamas spokesman later added Palestinian factions had also agreed to accept the offer for "a cooling-down on the ground".

It will allow for humanitarian aid to get through and for people to go out and shop for vital provisions.

Israel said it would stand by the agreement despite the infiltration - but warned the attack "could have had devastating consequences" as the Palestinian fighters were armed with "extensive weapons", including rocket-propelled grenades.

Four children were killed in an Israeli strike on a Gaza beach on Wednesday

Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, who is in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, said: "It is one of the biggest fears in Israel that Hamas fighters can get into Israel and wreak havoc in the kibbutz that are along the border with Gaza.

"The whole of that border is watched very, very closely at all times, and so the Israelis here are saying that they expected there would be some type of spectacular attempt to attack Israeli citizens, but they were able to foil it."

Fighting between the two sides continued right up to the start of the start of the ceasefire.

Palestinian police said three civilians were killed when tank shells landed on a home in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, while the Israel military said 15 rockets were fired into Israel this morning.

The temporary truce comes after a group of Palestinian children were killed on Wednesday when a shell landed on a beach they were playing on.

Gaza's health ministry described the attack as "cowardly", while the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) promised a full investigation and said the deaths appeared to have been a "tragic outcome" of a strike aimed at Hamas militants.

Some 230 people have been killed so far in the 10 days of cross-border fighting.

Tensions in the region have been inflamed following the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers and the suspected revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.

More follows...

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Middle East: Old Formula For Peace Will Not Work

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Palestinians Urged To Leave Homes As Truce Fails

Israel's military has urged tens of thousands of Palestinians living in northern and eastern Gaza to leave their homes.

The move could signal more airstrikes are planned for those areas after Israel warned the ruling Hamas militant group would "pay the price" for rejecting a ceasefire plan.

Israel says it will "expand and intensify" its offensive as aerial assaults resumed on Tuesday after being briefly suspended following its acceptance of the Egypt-brokered truce.

Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets in the first six hours of the ceasefire plan which led to Israel restarting its strikes in Gaza - that has a population of 1.7 million.

The fresh raids hit Gaza City, southern Khan Younis, Rafah and central Johr al Deeq, killing five people, reported the AFP news agency.

Israel has confirmed its first death of the week-long conflict - a man who was delivering food to soldiers suffered fatal wounds when a Hamas rocket struck the Erez crossing on the Gaza border.

People carry their belongings among building debris in Gaza

The Israeli military has told residents of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya and the Gaza City neighbourhoods of Shijaiyah and Zeitoun in automated telephone calls to leave their properties.

Sami Wadiya, a resident of one of the areas likely to be targeted, said he would not leave his home. "We know it's risky, but there are no secure places to go to."

Prior to the calls, the raids have already prompted around 17,000 people to flee their homes, particularly in northern Gaza, with many taking refuge in UN schools.

Hamas officials said they had not been consulted on the ceasefire proposal and would not halt violence without a fully-fledged deal including Israeli concessions.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

More than 190 Palestinians, including many civilians - some children - have been killed by the bombardment over the last week and the Israelis say the raids are designed to stop rocket fire from Gaza.

Since July 8, Gaza militants have fired more than 1,200 rockets at Israel - hundreds of which have been intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system - while Israeli aircraft have struck close to 1,700 times.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "It would have been preferable to have solved this diplomatically, and this is what we tried to do when we accepted the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire.

"But Hamas leaves us no choice but to expand and intensify the campaign against it."

He added: "Hamas chose to continue fighting and will pay the price for that decision. When there is no ceasefire, our answer is fire."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the movement had not been consulted on the truce bid.

"We didn't get to see the Egyptian proposal except through the media," he said.

"The idea of halting fire before there is any agreement on the conditions laid out by the resistance is unacceptable and we reject it."

Hamas has said it wants the end of Israel's blockade of Gaza and the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt as part of a truce deal.

It also wants Israel to free Palestinians it re-arrested after releasing them in a 2011 exchange for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for more than five years.

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Seven Dead As Typhoon Batters The Philippines

At least seven people have been killed and thousands left without power after a typhoon ripped through central Philippines.

More than 370,000 people were forced to flee their homes

Typhoon Rammasun, which is also known locally as Glenda, battered the main island of Luzon with gusts of up to 115mph.

Despite veering off-track south of the capital Manila, the typhoon still managed to leave a trail of destruction in the city - home to 12 million people.

Electricity poles, trees and roofs were damaged, with government offices and schools forced to close.

A motorcyclist blown over by a gust of wind from the typhoon

More than 370,000 people were moved from high-risk villages to emergency shelters in six provinces.

Hundreds of residents of one shanty town at the edge of Manila Bay fled when strong wind tore the tin roofs off their dwellings.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said: "It was like a drill - we hauled people away from dangerous seaside areas, whether they liked it or not."

Trees were brought down across the capital Manila

Three people were killed in rural provinces, while a trio of family members died when a wall collapsed on them in Lucena city.

An infant boy also died after a partial building collapse in Cavite province, near the capital.

Three fishermen have been reported missing in Catanduanes, near Albay province, where Rammasun made landfall late on Tuesday.

Coastal shanty towns were particularly hard hit by Rammasun

Damage assessments are still to be carried out, due to continuing heavy rain and wind and the loss of telephone communications to many areas.

In 2013, massive devastation and deaths occurred when Typhoon Haiyan hit southern parts of the country.

Many Filipinos feared the typhoon would be a repeat of 2013's Haiyan

Haiyan's strong winds and tsunami-like storm surges flattened towns, leaving at least 6,300 people dead and more than 1,000 missing.

Rammasun, the Thai term for the god of thunder, is the seventh storm to batter the Philippines this year.

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World Cup Ticket Scam Suspect Hands Himself In

A Briton accused of running a World Cup ticket touting operation has handed himself in to a judge in Brazil, it is understood.

Police in Rio de Janeiro had said they considered Ray Whelan to be "on the run" after he left his hotel in the city, although his company denied he was a fugitive.

Sky sources understand he presented himself to a judge on Monday afternoon, before he was handed over to police.

He will now be transferred to Rio de Janeiro's main prison complex of Bangu, where the other 10 suspects in the Fifa hospitality ticket touting scam are being held.

His lawyers  released a statement that quoted Mr Whelan as saying: "I will finally start my defence".

Mr Whelan was first arrested last week on the basis of telephone taps in which he was heard discussing $25,000 (£14,500) cash deals for ticket packages with Lamine Fofana, an Algerian suspected of being the conduit for hundreds of tickets.

He was released on bail last Tuesday, but two days later a judge approved an arrest warrant, a precursor to his being formally charged.

Officers went to his hotel, the upmarket Copacabana Palace, but found he had left by a staff entrance an hour earlier.

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Libya Mulls Call For Help After Militia Attacks

The Libyan government is considering calling for international forces to help re-establish security after several days of violence in the country.

At least 15 people have been killed in clashes in the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi since Sunday.

And in the latest attack by militias, two people were killed and around 90% of the planes at Triploi airport were destroyed by rockets.

"The government is looking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority," a spokesman said.

Heavy fighting between armed groups has prompted the United Nations to pull its staff out of the North African country.

Seven people were killed in Tripoli on Sunday in the worst fighting for six months in the capital, where rival militias have been fighting for control of the airport.

Security and medical sources said at least six people had been killed and 25 wounded in Benghazi in heavy fighting between security forces and rival militias since Sunday evening.           

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has slipped deeper into chaos with its government and army unable to control brigades of former rebel fighters and militias who are fighting for political and economic power.

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Hamas Rejects Egypt's Gaza Ceasefire Plan

A Complex Web Of Friends And Enemies

Updated: 10:16am UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel at dawn. The opening of a new front for Israel already engaged in an escalating air campaign in the Gaza Strip? No.

Neither the Israelis nor Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of 100,000 rockets and controls southern Lebanon, are that stupid.

The missile attack on Israel's north was an attempt by Sunni militants to spark a confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel that both know would be a zero sum.

Why would Sunnis, in all probability descendants of Palestinian refugees from what is now Israel, want to do that?

It's Hezbollah, a Shia movement, after all, that has been a major conduit of experts, funding and modern rockets to Hamas, a Sunni organisation, in Gaza. Hamas and Hezbollah are allies.

But only when it comes to fighting Israel.

In Syria, Hamas has condemned the Assad regime, which like Hezbollah is backed by Iran.

Sunnis of Palestinian descent are among volunteers who have joined rebel groups fighting Damascus, while Hezbollah has sent thousands of its best fighters to the frontlines to defend the regime of Bashar al Assad.

There is a logic at work here.

If Sunni groups in south Lebanon can sucker the Israelis into a war with Hezbollah they could enjoy the double whammy of reduced pressure on Gaza, and the use of Israel's devastating air power against Hezbollah, the Sunnis' enemies in Syria.

No better example of an attempt to kill two birds with one stone.

It won't happen because both Hezbollah and Israel, foes who have the greatest respect for one another, saw through the plot some time back. It's not the first time it has been tried.

But it does signal just how the Middle East's tectonic plates of conflict have shifted and can overlap.

The explosion of sectarian Muslim war between Sunni and Shia in Syria, which has spread into Iraq and has destabilised Lebanon, has become the defining clash in a new age of chaos.

Rival regional powers Saudi Arabia and Iran use proxies to vie for influence and control.

The Saudis have become increasingly nervous of the spread of a Shia crescent from Tehran through Baghdad to Damascus and south Lebanon.

But Tehran has also used enemy forces to bolster the positions of its allies.

According to intelligence sources Muhsin al Fadhli, once a senior al Qaeda figure based in Iraq, has taken up an operational role inside Syria - at the instigation of the Iranian government.

Why would Tehran release someone to fight a key client and ally in Damascus?

Because radical groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have fought harder against fellow rebel groups than they have against the Assad regime.

Tehran has split the rebels.

But now ISIS threatens Iran's client government in Baghdad showing that an enemy's enemy may be a friend from time to time, but will remain an enemy.

This may be complicated, but there is no excuse for stupidity in the Middle East. Failure to comprehend this can be fatal.

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Israel's Threat As Thousands Flee Northern Gaza

Israel has appeared to hold off on a threatened escalation of its Gaza Strip offensive, but Palestinian deaths continue to mount.

On Sunday, the Israeli military warned residents of the northern border town of Beit Lahiya to leave or risk their lives when, after nightfall, it planned to intensify air strikes against suspected Palestinian rocket launchers among civilian homes.

But despite a lone strike on farmland outside the town there has been little sign so far of the Israeli operation being ramped up.

However, Israeli troops launched a ground operation in the northern Gaza Strip, the first since the offensive against Hamas began.

Artillery flares illuminate the sky following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza

The navy commandos' brief incursion on Sunday - which ignored a United Nations call for a ceasefire - targeted a rocket launcher site, according to Israeli public radio.

The armed branch of Hamas confirmed that Israeli troops had exchanged gunfire with Palestinian fighters.

Thousands of residents in northern Gaza have fled their homes, after the Israeli military warning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would be hitting Hamas "with growing force," warning there was no end in sight. 

A picture tweeted by Israel claiming to target a militant rocket site

"We do not know when this operation will end," he told ministers.

In an interview on CBS's Face the Nation, he defended the offensive.

"When we began this interview we were under bomb alert and as the minutes passed now we're told people can go out into the open air again," he said.

"This is the kind of reality we're living in. And we'll do whatever is necessary to put an end to it."

Tel Aviv residents take cover during an air raid siren warning of an attack

Mr Netanyahu urged Americans to imagine US cities from the East Coast to Colorado, or 80% of the population, were under threat of rocket attack, with only 60 to 90 seconds to reach a bomb shelter.

"That's what we're experiencing right now, as we speak," he said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has phoned Mr Netanyahu to renew a US offer to help mediate a truce.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to ask the United Nations for international protection as the offensive continues.

Israeli soldiers rest in the shade of trees near central Gaza

Israel began its offensive on Tuesday in response to weeks of rocket attacks from Hamas militants in Gaza, who are understood to have fired more than 600 missiles into the country.

Two more rockets shot from Gaza were destroyed over the Tel Aviv area by the Iron Dome missile defence system on Sunday, several hours after another two rockets were intercepted over Lod, close to the country's main airport.

Hamas has denied being behind a rocket attack on Israel from Lebanon on Saturday evening.

A rocket fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights, falling on open ground and causing no casualties, an army spokeswoman told AFP.

Israeli soldiers walk across a field near central Gaza strip

Earlier that day an Israeli warplane bombed the home of Gaza's police chief and damaged a nearby mosque, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50.

It was the deadliest single attack during the conflict, which has now claimed 165 Palestinian lives and left more than 1,000 injured.

No Israelis have died so far in the latest conflict, and many of the rockets fired into the country have been intercepted by Iron Dome.

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World Cup: Germany Win Trophy For Fourth Time

Terrific World Cup That Swept Aside The Doubts

Updated: 11:40pm UK, Sunday 13 July 2014

By Nick Powell, Sports Editor

It was entirely appropriate that a competition where predictions became impossible should be settled in extra-time by a German who came on as substitute for the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer.

After a gripping but goalless opening 90 minutes, Mario Gotze, replacement for Miroslav Klose, beat Argentina with a sublime piece of skill befitting what we have seen this past month.

For sustained team excellence throughout, Germany are worthy champions.

It was unquestionably a terrific tournament.

Best ever? Too subjective. One of the best, certainly. 1970 and 1998, to name but two, gave us plenty to enjoy.

But football has changed since then, and World Cups too.

Fitter, faster, stronger players. Bigger tournaments. More countries, for heaven's sake, and more finalists (after an expansion to 32 countries in 1998).

One argument against that has been exploded this past month in Brazil, namely that too many weak teams would feature.

Costa Rica, Algeria? Both reached the last 16, where the former won again and the latter took Germany to extra-time.

The competition's compelling nature proved enough to quell most of the Brazilian protests about its cost, and help us generally forget the questions about FIFA's competence and propriety.

But match-fixing allegations surrounding Cameroon were an in-tournament reminder of football's seamy side, or more accurately of the sport's attractiveness to criminals seeking a fast illegal million bucks or a money laundry.

Luis Suarez snaffled himself more column inches through his incisors than his prodigious talent or his noteworthy comeback from knee surgery to blast England out of the World Cup.

Ah yes, England ... no, let's move on, as they might yet successfully do themselves if Roy Hodgson can get them playing consistently as they did for long periods against Italy.

FIFA acted quickly and strongly against Suarez, less so against the brutality which many teams realised they could get away with - not least Brazil, who themselves ironically lost poster boy Neymar to a crude knee in the back.

That must be sorted by Russia 2018 - always assuming investigator Michael Garcia has not found reasons to switch the venue (unlikely).

Which brings us to Qatar 2022, and a welter of unanswered questions guaranteed to keep journalists busy and lawyers rich.

And to Teflon-coated FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Like the poor, always with us, and set on asking in 2015 for another four-year term to stay as football's overload until he's 83.

The politics are on the doorstep.

But it's acceptable for now to put our fingers in our ears, draw the curtains, and replay in our minds (or on video) the sporting delights served up this past four weeks by unheralded talents like Colombia forward James Rodriguez and Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and acknowledged superstars like Neymar, Dutch wizard Arjen Robben.

Not to mention the wonderfully gifted Argentinian Lionel Messi, who fell one step short of football's ultimate prize.

His team's fans ended the night in tears.

Only four more years ....

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Costa Concordia: Cruise Ship Being Refloated

The operation to refloat the shipwrecked Costa Concordia has begun with compressed air being pumped into 30 tanks attached to the sides of the vessel to force out the seawater inside.

Thirty-two people died when the huge ship slammed into rocks off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 and part of the ship's 290-metre-long hull sank beneath the water.

But having been hauled into an upright position after a 19-hour operation last September, the wreckage of the luxury liner is now being refloated before a flotilla of tugboats will drag it to the port of Genoa.

The Costa Concordia has been resting on a huge underwater platform

It will then be broken up and sold as scrap.

The 114,500-tonne vessel will be raised two metres off the artificial platforms it has rested on since September in the initial phase of the operation on Monday.

It will then be towed away from the shore and moored using anchors and cables.

The salvage operation is the biggest in maritime history

"The risks are that the ship could bend as it is raised, or the chains underneath it could snap," Salvage Master Nick Sloane said.

"There will be 42 people on board during the first manoeuvre. If disaster strikes we will evacuate through emergency escapes on the bow and stern."

The bulk of the refloating operation is due to take place from Thursday to Saturday, as the decks slowly emerge to be cleared of debris and checked for structural damage.

Mr Rebello, second left, is the only victim whose body is still missing

Search teams will scour the wreck as it is refloated in an attempt to find the body of the only victim still missing, Russel Rebello, an Indian waiter. 

In an interview with Sky News last January, Mr Rebello's brother, Kevin, who has made regular trips to Giglio from his home in Milan, said: "More than anything we would just like to find Russel's body so we can bury him and draw a line on what happened.''

Eerie video footage shot by divers and released by police earlier this month showed twisted metalwork, broken furniture and discarded belongings left by the 4,200 people who were on board the Costa Concordia when it crashed.

Francesco Schettino is accused of fleeing the ship

Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, is on trial for charges including manslaughter.

He is accused of deliberately altering the course of the Concordia in order to carry out a sail-by salute of the island in order to impress local residents and passengers.

The 53-year-old, who was allegedly on the bridge with his Moldovan lover Domnica Cemortan, claimed it was ''too dark to see anything'' and told investigators he had not fled but had ''tripped and fell into a lifeboat".

He was dubbed 'Captain Coward' by some tabloid newspapers after reportedly refusing orders from the coastguard to return to the ship to help with the rescue operation.

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