Gaza City, Palestinian Territories
Palestinian mother mourns death of son, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, at hospital in...
A Palestinian mother (C) mourns the death of her son, who medics said was killed by Israeli shelling, at a hospital in Gaza City July 23, 2014. Israeli forces pounded multiple sites across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including the enclave's sole power plant, and said it was meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists, as diplomats sought to end the bloodshed. Israel launched its offensive on July 8 to halt missile salvoes by Hamas Islamists, which was angered by a crackdown on its supporters in the nearby occupied West Bank and suffering economic hardship because of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade. Some 630 Palestinians, many of them children and civilians, have died in the conflagration, including a seven-year-old hit by a shell in southern Gaza early Wednesday, a medic said. Some 29 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including a tank officer who was shot by a Palestinian sniper overnight. Two civilians have been slain by rocket fire. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)