News desk :At least 62 people have been killed in Gaza’s eastern district of Shujayea in the heaviest barrage of tank shells since Israel launched its ground offensive, and as a two-hour humanitarian ceasefire was broken less than an hour after it was announced according to the news agencies.Thousands of people fled the Palestinian enclave as heavy bombardment from the Israeli army continued overnight to Sunday, with the Palestinian death toll over the last 13 days reaching 410.The eastern neighbourhoods of Shujayea, al-Shaaf and al-Tuffa were the worst hit. Bodies littered the streets. In the early afternoon, Israel agreed to observe a two-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Shujayea to allow the evacuation of wounded, but it was broken less than an hour after it was announced.Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told Al Jazeera that Israel’s actions constituted a war crime.Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker in Gaza witnessed desperate civilians making their way into Gaza City in the morning.”While driving into the bureau, we were met by hundreds of people on foot carrying their children, carrying plastic bags filled with whatever belongings they could take with them. They couldn’t leave during the night,” our correspondent said. Dozens of bodies were brought to hospitals from Shujayea on Sunday morning, and more were expected to arrive after ambulances could access the neighbourhoods.Those killed included the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, Osama, his wife Hala and their two children. A Shujayea resident who reached a hospital told Al Jazeera: “It is a massacre taking place in Shujayea. It is a massacre with the full sense of the word, committed by Israel against innocent civilians, there are no armed men among us, the streets of Shujayea are packed with dead bodies.”Israel says it launched its offensive in response to rockets fired from Gaza and says it is targeting military installations of Hamas and other armed groups. However, the vast majority of those killed and injured are Palestinian civilians, many of them children. Gaza residents testify about the effects Israel and Egypt’s blockade of their land has had on their lives.Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor working at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, told Al Jazeera that most of the casualties brought there were civilians who suffered shrapnel injuries and amputations.”It’s very disturbing to see the large number of civilians, particularly the children. What is remarkable with the Palestinians in Gaza is the resilience. They don’t give up, they stand tall. I’m amazed to see the calm and coherence in the community and in the hospital among the [hospital] staff.”What [Palestinians] are [saying] is that how can the world accept the Israelis targeting civilians in an area which is completely shut off? There are no shelters, no early warning systems, no sirens. The population is basically completely naked to the enormously strong Israeli military machine.”Qatar was due to host a meeting between Abbas and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, a senior Qatari source told Reuters. Ban was due to travel to Kuwait, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jordan during the week, a UN statement said. The Qatari source said Abbas would also meet Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.Western-backed Abbas in April struck a reconciliation deal with Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 from forces loyal to his Fatah movement. The agreement led to the formation of a Palestinian unity government and Israel’s pullout from US-brokered peace talks.Hamas has already rejected one Egyptian-brokered truce, saying any deal must include an end to a blockade of the coastal area and a recommitment to a ceasefire reached after an eight-day war in Gaza in 2012.Hostilities escalated following the killing last month of three Jewish students that Israel blames on Hamas. Hamas neither confirmed nor denied involvement.The apparent revenge murder of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem, for which Israel has charged three Israelis, further fueled tension.
