Palestinian death toll in Gaza mounts to 631: medical sources

Palestinian medical sources said that 70 Palestinians have been killed on Tuesday in a series of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll to 631 since Israel started its offensive on the Hamas-ruled territory on July 8, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said.

According al-Qedra, 161 children, 66 women and 35 old people were among the casualties. Some 4,000 people have also been injured in the ongoing Israeli military offensive which aims at ending rocket fire into Israel.

On the Israeli side, one Israeli civilian and 25 soldiers have been killed in the tit-for-tat violence. Islamic Hamas movement said it has kidnapped an Israeli soldier Sunday. Israel confirmed one of its soldiers was missing in Gaza.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who was in Ramallah on Tuesday for a regional tour, said that he believed his talks with world leaders will lead to an end to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas "in the very near future."

Ban made the remarks when he briefed the UN Security Council on the Gaza situation Tuesday morning via video conference from Ramallah in the West Bank, the fifth stop on his journey that has so far included Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Israel. He will also visit Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and other countries as needed, according to his spokesman.