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Israeli aircraft and helicopters bombed the Gaza Strip on Friday morning and Hamas responded by launching a barrage of rockets at least two cities as both sides ignored the UN's call for a ceasefire.



Israeli shelling killed two militiamen of the Islamic extremist group Hamas and another unidentified man. Another attack by Israeli aircraft detonated a five-story building in northern Gaza, killing seven people, including a child, said Hamas officials and a hospital. At noon, 19 Palestinians had died.


Before dawn, Israel carried out more than 30 attacks and after sunrise, continuing explosions.

In the afternoon, 23 Palestinians were killed, plus the balance of fatalities to 777 since the conflict began two weeks ago. At least half of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza. Thirteen Israelis have been killed during the offensive.


UN humanitarian aid was held in Gaza for the second consecutive day due to the fragile security measures, but the Palestinians who dared to go to aid centers could still get food and medicine. More than half the 1.4 million people living in the territory depend on the UN to eat.

Agency officials later said they plan to resume the delivery of humanitarian aid as soon as possible if the Israeli army says that the UN staff will be protected. A UN agency stopped sending supplies to the besieged Gaza on Thursday after an Israeli tank killed a truck driver transporting food. The Red Cross also reduced its aid operations after one of their drivers was injured in a similar accident.


The World Food Program and UNICEF stressed that still operating in Palestinian territory, where a million people has no electricity and 750,000 have been made due to the lack of running water, according to the UN.

Despite strong criticism from international aid groups, Israel insisted on doing everything possible to facilitate the humanitarian work, citing three hours between breaks of attacks during the past three days, including Friday. Team members for help, however, say that these measures are inadequate.


On Thursday night the UN Security Council resolution approved on a unanimous 14-0, with the abstention of the United States. The resolution urges an immediate ceasefire "after the complete departure of the Israeli army from Gaza."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during his first official response to the resolution of the Security Council of the UN that the rockets that fell in Israel on Friday, "only demonstrate that the decision of the UN is not practical and will not be accomplished by Palestinian murderous organizations. "


A spokesman for Hamas, however, said the militia group is "not interested" in the resolution because it was not consulted and because the United Nations failed to take into account their minimum demands.

Israel launched its offensive on December 27 in an attempt to stop years of attacks with rocket launchers from the territory controlled by Hamas.


Despite the devastating attack, Hamas continued to bombard the residents of southern Israel on Friday. The rockets struck the south, including in and around Beersheba and Ashkelon, two cities that, like others, have been stalled since the offensive began. No injuries were reported in the attacks.

In Geneva, High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an independent investigation of the crimes committed in Gaza after reports that the Israeli army shelled a house full of Palestinian civilians, killing 30.