Palestinian medical sources reported that a Palestinian man died of serious injuries, suffered when the army bombarded Rafah, earlier Thursday. An elderly man was instantly killed in the attack.The sources said the Mohammad Ahmad al-Hout, 41, was seriously injured by Israeli shells, in the al-Jneina neighborhood in Rafah.

During the attack, and elderly man, identified as Mohammad Hassouna, 67, was instantly killed, while al-Hout was seriously wounded.

They were among many Palestinians injured when an Israeli drone fired a missile at worshipers leaving a local mosque, following dawn prayers.

231 Palestinians, mainly children, women, and elderly, have been killed by Israeli missiles and shells since Tuesday July 8th.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that more than 1,700 Palestinians have been injured; most of them are children, women, and elderly, while many reporters have also been injured.

On the political level, the official Egyptian TV stated Thursday that “mediated negotiations for a truce between Israel and the resistance in Gaza are advancing on a number of issues, while several issues remain a point of contention”.

It said that “a new truce could be declared on Friday morning, should all obstacles be removed”, adding that the one of the main issues is Israel’s rejection to release all Palestinians, who were released under the Shalit Prisoner swap agreement of October 2011, and were rearrested recently by Israel in the West Bank.

Israel TV, Channel 10, has reported that the Israeli offensive on Gaza “likely reached its final stages”, and that a ceasefire agreement could be reached on Thursday at night, or Friday morning, due to what has been described as “Egyptian pressure on Israel and the resistance in Gaza”.

Israel insists that any agreement should not include the release of the detainees, but should only be focused on other issues, mainly “security”.

|Related|
List of the 231 Palestinians, Including Whole Families, Killed Since Tuesday July 8th
http://www.imemc.org/article/68429