Deadly shelling hits UN school as Hamas mulls truce

Israeli shells struck a U.N. school in Gaza early July 30, killing 16, as ground troops made a signficant push into the territory despite Palestinian efforts to broker a 24-hour truce.

It was the second time in a week that a U.N. school sheltering hundreds of homeless Palestinians had been hit, with the latest violence pushing the Gaza death toll over 1,260.        

The bloodshed came as a top-level Palestinian delegation including Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders was preparing to head to Cairo to discuss a new proposal for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire, a top PLO official said.        

But there was no word on whether Israel would respond to the initiative, with the military striking 75 targets in Gaza overnight as ground troops made a "significant advance" inside the narrow coastal enclave, army radio reported.        

Violence in Gaza claimed at least 28 lives early July 29, with the worst strike taking place at the school in Jabaliya refugee camp in the north where hundreds had been seeking shelter after the army warned them to flee their homes.         

So far, U.N. figures show more than 215,000 people have fled their homes in a territory which is home to 1.7 million Palestinians, leaving one in eight people homeless.       

Many have taken shelter at schools run by UNRWA, a number of which have been hit by shells in the past week and at least two of which have been used by militants to store rockets.

Emergency services workers at the school were carrying out the grim task of picking body parts off the blood-soaked floor of a bombed-out classroom, an AFP correspondent said.        

The outer wall of the complex had also been damaged and a number...