The diplomatic wrangling came as at least 42 Palestinians were killed early Sunday in an airstrike in Gaza City, the deadliest episode in the recent bloodshed. …
GAZA CITY — Diplomats and international leaders were unable Sunday to mediate a cease-fire in the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel vowed to continue the fight and the United Nations Security Council failed to agree on a joint response to the worsening bloodshed.
The diplomatic wrangling occurred after the fighting, the most intense seen in Gaza and Israel for seven years, entered its deadliest phase yet. At least 42 Palestinians were killed early Sunday morning in an airstrike on several apartments in Gaza City, Palestinian officials said, the conflict’s most lethal episode so far.
Mr. Netanyahu’s vow proved true several hours later when Israeli warplanes unleashed a series of heavy airstrikes at several Gaza locations early Monday.
Explosions rocked the city from north to south for 10 minutes in an attack that was heavier, that covered a wider area and that lasted longer than a series of air raids 24 hours earlier in which the 42 Palestinians were killed — the deadliest single attack in the latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza. The earlier Israeli airstrikes flattened three buildings.
Local media reports said among the targets that were hit early Monday were the main coastal road west of Gaza City, security compounds and open spaces. The power distribution company said the airstrikes damaged a line feeding electricity from the only power plant to large areas in the southern part of the city.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The number of people in killed in Gaza rose to 197 over the seven days of the conflict, according to Palestinian officials, while the number
