TEL AVIV, July 20 (RIA Novosti) – Israel has agreed to a two-hour humanitarian ceasefire in eastern neighborhood of Gaza to allow medics to treat wounded Palestinians, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday.
“We have agreed to the Red Cross' request for a humanitarian window in Shuja'iya [district]. We will hold our fire there from 13:30-15:30 [10:30-12:30 GMT],” the military wrote on its Twitter page.
“We opened this humanitarian window despite the threats emanating from Shuja'iya. Hamas places its rockets, tunnels & command centers there,” IDF added.
The Israeli military underlined that they called on residents to evacuate the eastern district of Gaza many days ago.
“Hamas told Palestinian civilians to ignore our warnings. Hamas encouraged them to be human shields,” IDF said.
Hamas didn’t stop shooting from Shuja'iya despite the ceasefire, the military added.
A column of around 20 ambulances, fire service and media vehicles entered Shuja'iya after Israel agreed to suspend fire, a source told RIA Novosti.
Earlier, Hamas also accepted the ceasefire proposal, requested by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Palestinian officials say hundreds of people were killed and injured on Sunday after the Israeli Defense Forces shelled the Shejaiya district of Gaza.
Israel announced Sunday it was expanding its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip which was launched late on July 17, following days of shelling and aerial bombardment.
According to a statement published by the Palestinian health ministry, the number of people killed during Israel’s operation that entered its 13th day has surpassed 350 people.
On July 8, Israel started its Operation Protective Edge targeting the Hamas movement, which controls the region, and its allied groups of Palestinian rebels. About ten days later, the Israeli army switched to a ground offensive aimed at destroying underground tunnels dug by rebels to secretly enter the Israeli territory.
