UN condemns reported ceasefire violation by Hamas

From the Lusa News Agency

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today (1st) condemned the violation of the ceasefire in Gaza and called for the immediate release of the Israeli soldier, who was reportedly captured in Palestinian territory.

In a statement read by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General stressed that the UN cannot independently confirm the facts recorded since early morning, but expressed his "deep disappointment" and asserted that the latest developments raise doubts about the credibility of the guarantees provided to the United Nations by the Islamist movement Hamas.

Ban also expressed "great concern" about the resumption of Israeli attacks during the morning, which, according to him, have already caused the deaths of more than 70 Palestinians.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas and other militant groups of "flagrant violation of the ceasefire."

The Hamas spokesman responded by stating that "it was the [Israeli] occupation that violated the ceasefire. The Palestinian resistance acted on the basis of the right to self-defense."

The United Nations has called for a humanitarian ceasefire. The conflict has already caused more than 1.500 deaths on the Palestinian side, mostly civilians, and 63 Israeli soldiers and three civilians.

Gaza's Health Ministry spokesman, Ashraf al Qedra, stated that the first violation of the 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire, brokered by the UN, was carried out by the Israeli army after its artillery bombarded Rafah, near the border with Egypt.

For its part, Israel reported that two of its soldiers were killed in combat and a third may have been captured by armed militias, and accused the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, of taking advantage of the ceasefire to attack its troops.