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The United Nations went into emergency session on Sunday night in New York to discuss the Gaza crisis. The meeting was requested by Jordan.
In Israel, the Israel Defense Forces released the names of five of the thirteen soldiers killed in the fighting in Gaza on Saturday night and Sunday. Their deaths brought to 18, the number of soldiers killed since the ground operation began late last week.
At least 130 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its ground incursion, raising the death toll in Gaza to 350 since the beginning of the operation 14 days ago, including at least 76 children and 36 women.
Diplomatic efforts to bring about a cease-fire are picking up momentum, with both United States Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expected in the region over the next few days.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press conference on Sunday that the operation in Gaza can be expected to continue. Addressing the families of the fallen soldiers, he said that there was no war more just than the one for which their loved ones had given their lives.
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Latest updates:
3:38 A.M. Sirens sound in Sderot.
3:36 A.M. UN Security Council meeting on Gaza crisis begins in New York.
2:27 A.M. Sirens sounded in Sderot and the Shaar Hanegev regional council.
1:30 A.M. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is meant to meet in the coming hours with Hamas political head Khaled Meshal, according to Osama Khamdan, the Doha-based Hamas head of foreign ties. He said the two would focus on reaching a coordinated position on the terms for a cease-fire. (Jack Khoury)
1:28 A.M. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will leave Washington early Monday morning en route to Cairo and Jerusalem in an attempt to broker a cease-fire.
In a statement Sunday evening, state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. and its international partners were 'deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life.'
00:57 A.M. Sirens sounded in Kiryat Gat, Ashkelon, the Bnei Shimon regional council and the Beer Sheva region.
00:41 A.M. The United Nations will hold an emergency session on the Gaza situation on Sunday night, Reuters reports.
00:02 A.M. Three rockets explode in open areas in Sderot. No injusries or damage reported. (Shirley Seidler)
11:54 P.M. The Israel Defense Forces has released the names of five of the Golani Brigade soldiers killed on Thursday. They are: Major Tsafrir Bar-Or,32, from Holon, Captain Zvika Kaplan, 28, from Meirav, Sergeant Oz Mendelovich,21, from Atzmon, Sergeant Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21, from Raanana and Sergeant Gilad Yaakobi, 21, from Kiryat Ono.
11:23 P.M. The Hamas' armed wing says it has captured an Israeli soldier during fighting in the Gaza Strip. Speaking on a Hamas television station, spokesman Abu Ubaida said 'we have captured a Zionist soldier and the occupation has not admitted that.'
IDF sources said that the Hamas claim sounded dubious and the chances that Hamas was holding an IDF soldier were slim (Amos Harel.)
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