JERUSALEM AND THE GAZA STRIP — Israel and Hamas ignored a United Nations cease-fire resolution Friday, with the Israeli army attacking 70 targets in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian militants firing a barrage of rockets at southern Israel from the beleaguered seaside enclave.
The conflict in Gaza continued for a 14th day with little indication the international community or an Egyptian-backed peace initiative would bring a quick end to hostilities. Hamas officials said they would not heed a resolution they were not consulted about. Israel, complaining that the U.N. action was unworkable, kept thousands of army reservists on alert and vowed to continue the offensive.
"The state of Israel has never agreed that any outside body would determine its right to defend the security of its citizens," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.
Hamas spokesman Sami abu Zuhri said the U.N. failed to consider the interests of the Palestinian people.
"This resolution doesn't mean that the war is over," he said on satellite television channel Al Jazeera. "We call on the Palestinian fighters to mobilize and be ready to face the offensive, and we urge the Arab masses to carry on with their angry protests."
As Israeli officials quickly defied the U.N. resolution, the nation's media were reporting that differences were emerging within the government over how aggressive to be in the coming days. The ground invasion advanced quickly early on, but Israeli troops have not breached Gaza's most heavily populated urban areas, where sustained fighting could lead to higher casualties.
Israel was under increasing international pressure over a military campaign that has killed more than 780 Palestinians, at least one-third of them civilians, according to Gaza medical workers. The Israeli Supreme Court gave government officials four days to explain why the army has delayed the evacuation of many wounded Palestinians to medical facilities. The U.N., citing growing danger, on Thursday suspended the movements of its workers in Gaza after one of its truck drivers was killed.
"We did not attack the truck, this is unequivocal," said an Israeli army spokesman. "The driver was not killed by IDF fire, period."
U.N. relief officials have called for an investigation into the deaths of 30 civilians killed this week when Israeli shells battered a compound where they had taken refuge. They had gathered there after being ordered out of their homes in Gaza City's Zeitoun district. John Holmes, U.N. chief of humanitarian aid programs, called the deaths "a particularly outrageous incident."
