Jerusalem - The Israeli military announced that it will hold fire for seven hours today in parts of the Gaza Strip to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and for displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
The humanitarian truce, beginning at 10am (0700 GMT), however, will not apply in areas of the southern Gaza town of Rafah, a Defence Ministry official said in a statement.
The statement also said Israeli military would respond to any attacks during that time.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, on Sunday, strongly condemned the killing of at least 10 Palestinians in shelling outside of a UN-run school in Gaza, which is offering shelter to thousands of Palestinian civilians, saying that "the attack is yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law".
The US State Department also said on Sunday that the United States is "appalled" by the "disgraceful" shelling outside the school, which killed at least 10 Palestinian civilians.
"We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties," spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement. - SAnews.gov.za–Xinhua
