Gaza toll soars as Israel 'days' from completing tunnel hunt
Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive saying it was days from achieving its core goal of destroying all Islamist guerrilla cross-border attack tunnels, but a soaring Palestinian civilian toll has triggered international alarm, Reuters reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet on Wednesday approved continuing the assault launched on July 8 in response to a surge of rocket attacks by Gaza's dominant Hamas Islamists. Israel also sent a delegation to Egypt, which has been trying, with Washington's blessing, to broker a ceasefire.
A military source said some 16,000 reservists were being called up at short notice in the coming hours to relieve a similar number who would be stood down.
Gaza officials say at least 1,361 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the battered enclave and nearly 7,000 wounded. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza clashes and more than 400 wounded.