[caption id="attachment_107653" align="alignright" width="226"] Smoke rises from explosions caused by an Israeli missile strike in the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, July 20, 2014. The neighborhood came under heavy tank fire Sunday as Israel widened its ground offensive against Hamas, causing hundreds of panicked residents to flee. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)[/caption]
Diplomatic efforts to end two weeks of Gaza Strip fighting intensified after battles killed dozens of Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers in the conflict’s bloodiest single day.
The Palestinian death tally rose past 500, Al Jazeera television reported, citing the Gaza Health Ministry. Twenty Israelis have also died.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to arrive in Egypt today to prod truce efforts. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is already in the Mideast, conferring with regional leaders.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon signaled yesterday that the ground war may be winding down, saying the army was close to achieving most of the military goals it set.

The conflict, which began with rockets launched from Gaza and Israeli war planes targeting militant operations, entered a deadlier phase with the July 17 opening of a ground offensive. Israel lost more soldiers yesterday than it did in its entire three-week war in Gaza in 2009, for a total death toll of 18 since violence escalated early this month. Two civilians also have been killed.

Eighty-seven Palestinians were killed yesterday, including 60 who died in Israeli artillery and tank fire in the Shuja’iya area of Gaza City, according to Health Ministry officials who released the tolls.

 

Photographer: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images


Palestinian medics evacuate an injured girl from Gaza's Shuja’iya district on July 20, 2014.


 

Israel’s stated objective of the ground war is to destroy tunnels militants dug to carry out cross-border raids. Two militant squads entered Israel today through underground passages, and the military said one squad was hit by air and ground troops killed 10 infiltrators in a gunbattle.

The “lion’s share” of the tunnels will be destroyed within two to three days, Ya’alon said yesterday at a news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.

By Bloomberg

 

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