Gaza Fighting Rages Despite Cease-Fire Proposal

Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage.

Despite the heavy fighting, strides were made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt.

While the Security Council failed to reach agreement on a cease-fire resolution, Egyptian diplomats said Egypt will host separate talks with Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in Cairo Thursday, but there would be no meeting between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli airstrikes killed 29 Palestinians on Wednesday after leaflets were dropped warning residents to leave the area "because Hamas uses your houses to hide and smuggle military weapons."

The fighting continued into Thursday. Palestinians reported more than 20 airstrikes around Gaza before dawn, killing one person and wounding 10. There were also reports of clashes between Israeli armored forces and Hamas militants in southern Gaza.

Related

Israeli Forces Push Deeper into Gaza; 550 Palestinians Killed

Gaza Conflict Spreads to Europe

WATCH: Israel Hits 1,000 Hamas Targets

The casualties brought the total Palestinian death toll during Israel's 12-day assault to 689 and drove home the complexities of finding a diplomatic endgame for Israel's Gaza invasion. Ten Israelis have been killed, including three civilians, since the offensive began Dec. 27.

More than 5,000 people have fled the border area, seeking refuge at two U.N. schools turned into temporary shelters.

The fury of the renewed fighting made it appear each side was scrambling to get in as many hits as possible before a truce could materialize.

"I feel like the ground is shaking when we hear the shelling. People are terrified," said Fida Kishta, a resident of the Gaza-Egypt border area where Israeli planes destroyed 16 empty houses.

In Turkey, a Mideast diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said that country would be asked to put together an international force that could help keep the peace. And diplomats in New York worked on a U.N. Security Council statement backing the cease-fire initiative but failed to reach agreement on action to end the violence.