Australia calls for Israel-Hamas truce

The Australian government has urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a new truce and end
the violence in Gaza.
Israeli warplanes destroyed Hamas targets including a mosque and a TV station on
Sunday, after a day of air strikes that killed more than 230 Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip.
At least 230 Palestinians, most of them militants, died and more than 400 were
wounded on Saturday, one of the bloodiest days in decades of Israeli-Palestinian
fighting.
One Israeli was also killed and six Israelis wounded.
The latest violence comes after a six-month ceasefire between Israel and Gaza
militants ended on December 19, when Hamas refused to renew it.
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard called for the truce to be reinstated and urged
both parties to avoid injuring civilians.
"We are calling on Hamas and other militants to cease shelling southern Israel," she
told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.
"Obviously, they have broken the ceasefire and engaged in an act of aggression
against Israel.
"Israel has responded. We are echoing the calls from around the world for parties to
move back to a ceasefire."
The Embassy of Israel in Canberra said the deterioration of the situation was the
direct result of Hamas policy.
"If Hamas would renounce the path of terror, there would be no need for the action,"
the embassy said in a statement.
"As we have stated repeatedly: quiet will be answered with quiet, but terror will
elicit a response."
While the death toll was unfortunate, Israel were simply defending themselves, the
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said.
"The loss of life in Gaza is deeply regrettable," chief executive Vic Alhadeff said
in a statement.
"It has arisen as a direct result of the fact that Iran-backed terrorists have fired
6,300 rockets and mortars into Israel from Gaza in the last three years and that
Hamas has decided not to renew the ceasefire.
"Israel's attack on Hamas ... is therefore a basic right of self-defence to protect
its civilians from relentless attack."