No truce: 140 Palestinians, five Israelis dead in one week - Al-Bawaba

Despite hopes for truce expressed Tuesday by the Egyptian authorities and Hamas violence between Gaza groups and Israel continues. According to the Palestinian representative to the UN, the Israeli offensive has killed more than 140 people and left over 950 injured in the Gaza Strip. Riyad Mansour unveiled the new toll in a letter to the UN Security Council in which he urged the 15 member countries to condemn the Israeli operation "Pillar of Defense", launched last Wednesday to stop firing rockets from Gaza. The Palestinian representative said in his letter that there were "many children" among the 140 Palestinian victims. In total, five Israelis, including a soldier, were killed, from rockets over the past week.

The members of the Security Council are to review a request by Arab countries to hold a meeting on to discuss the crisis in Gaza. Western diplomats have expressed fears that such a move could undermine efforts to achieve a cease-fire. But they finally gave their approval for a public meeting to be held Wednesday at 21:00. The United States opposed on Tuesday a statement of the Security Council on the situation in Gaza, saying it was "counter-productive" and that it "did not provide any contribution to the ongoing diplomatic efforts ".

Night from Tuesday to Wednesday: Hamas truce tempers hopes
Hamas in power in Gaza, shower hopes of imminent truce with Israel, saying it could be announced by Egypt and called on Palestinian armed groups "to continue to respond to Israeli crimes."

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday night in Jerusalem before talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States commitment to Israel's security was "strong as a rock." "The U.S. commitment to Israel's security is strong and unshakable as a rock. This is why I think it is important (to get) a de-escalation of the situation in Gaza," Clinton said during a brief press conference.