Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza, and is now warning 100,000 residents of northern Gaza to leave their homes by Wednesday morning, signaling a possible massive military strike.  This comes after the armed wing of Hamas refused to abide by the Egyptian truce initiative and began launching rockets at Israeli territory.

The military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Dim al-Qassam Brigades, rejected the Egyptian truce as “not worth the ink that wrote it.”  But the political leadership was reportedly still considering the deal, even as the Israeli airstrikes resumed around them.  It shows a split between the two entities, but also reveals how unfavorable the ceasefire proposal was to Palestinians – it offered them no gains after a week or so of fighting, and left them with scores of dead civilians and wrecked homes.

For the first time in this crisis, one of those Hamas rockets fired from Gaza has claimed a life.  37-year old Rabbi Dor Chanin was carrying food to Israeli Defense Force (IDF) troops near the border crossing into northern Gaza.  He is so far the only Israeli killed by enemy fire during “Operation Protective Edge”. 

Hamas launched more than 900 rockets at Israel, largely missing populated areas altogether, and causing little damage.  Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system has successfully shot down 180 rockets that were heading for urban areas.

On the Palestinian side, around 200 people are dead and more than 1,100 are wounded.  Gaza hospitals are reporting a dire shortage of medicine and equipment, particularly for trauma injuries.  Despite this, some conservative Israeli sources are reporting that the Palestinian Authority refused an Israeli offer of blood donations.