27 Palestinians killed as Gaza truce unravels

Gaza truce shelling

A Palestinian inspects a destroyed house in the heavily bombed Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah, close to the Israeli border, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. A three-day Gaza cease-fire that began Friday quickly unraveled, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the truce. AP

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—A Palestinian official says Israeli shelling has killed at least 27 Palestinians in southern Gaza as an Israel-Hamas truce unraveled less hours after coming into effect.

Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Kidra told The Associated Press that more than 100 Palestinians were wounded as a result of the Israeli shelling on Friday in and around the town of Rafah.

The three-day cease-fire, announced by the U.S. and the U.N. hours earlier, took effect at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday after heavy fighting that killed 17 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli military says Gaza militants have fired eight rockets and mortars at Israel since the cease-fire began, one of which was intercepted.

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