Salem-News.com Jerusalem articles

US Urges Ceasefire Between Israelis and Palestinians as Death Toll Climbs Over 800

The urgency was spurred on Thursday by the killing of 15 people as they sheltered at a U.N. run school in the northern Gaza Strip, which local officials blamed on Israeli shelling.

(JERUSALEM ) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed regional leaders to nail down a Gaza ceasefire on Friday as the civilian death toll soared, and further violence loomed between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

With Israel and Hamas-led Islamist fighters setting seemingly irreconcilable terms for a truce that mediators hope will begin by a Muslim festival next week, Kerry worked the phones from Egypt, while aides made clear his patience was waning.

Hamas Captures Israeli Soldier; Death Toll Continues to Climb

The Shifa hospital director, Naser Tattar, said 17 children, 14 women and four elderly were among 62 Palestinians killed, and about 400 people were wounded in the Israeli assault.

(JERUSALEM) - Hamas's armed wing said on Sunday it had captured an Israeli soldier, as fighting in Gaza led to the bloodiest losses in a nearly two-week military offensive, with some 100 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers killed.

The Israeli military said it was checking on the reported capture, which was announced in a Hamas television broadcast. Israeli television stations ignored the report in their extended evening programing about the offensive.

U.S., Israel Trying to Ward Off UN Condemnation of Gaza Air Strikes

Secretary of State John Kerry said that the U.S. is trying to stem the surging violence in Israel and Gaza.

(NEW YORK) - Jerusalem and Washington are trying to prevent the UN Security Council from condemning Israel’s air offensive in the Gaza Strip, in which dozens of Palestinian civilians have been killed, Israeli diplomats said Thursday. The Security Council is due to meet at 9:00 a.m. EST time to discuss the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

On Wednesday delegates from Muslim countries met with Rwanda’s ambassador, who currently holds the Security Council’s rotating presidency. The delegates were granted their request for an emergency meeting on the escalation in Gaza, part of which will be open.

US; World Leaders Voice Outraged over Palestinian Teens Murder

Israeli leaders also condemned the killing, pledging a full investigation.

(JERUSALEM) - The U.S. and United Nations have condemned the abduction and murder of a Palestinian teenager in Israel, which sparked fierce clashes in East Jerusalem.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called it "sickening" while the UN demanded justice over the "despicable act".