Gaza truce announced; bombing continues

Israel launched new air-strikes across the Gaza Strip late Nov. 21, even as Egypt's foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr announced a ceasefire to end eight days of violence. Missiles fired by an unmanned drone slammed into Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip around 7:30 PM local time, killing a youth and critically injuring another. Another air-strike killed a Palestinian in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, with six more wounded elsewhere in the city. The ceasefire, announced at a Cairo press conference with the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, was to take effect at 9 PM. The Palestinian death toll in the eight days of bombing stands at some 170, with another 1,000 wounded. Five Israelis have been killed, including one soldier. (Maa'n News Agency, Nov. 21)

Also that day, a bomb exploded on a bus in central Tel Aviv, wounding at least 10 people. Celebratory gunfire rang out across Gaza as the news spread and Hamas praised the bombing, but no one claimed immediate responsibility. The blast shattered windows on the bus as it drove along a tree-lined street next to Israel's huge defense ministry complex. Israel's ambulance service said three of the wounded were in a serious condition. Police said it was not a suicide attack. (Reuters, Nov. 21)