Israel launches strikes after rebuffing ceasefire

Israel launched rapid-fire air strikes against Palestinian targets across the Gaza Strip on Sunday after rebuffing a proposed ceasefire by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Israel is threatening to expand its offensive unless militants release Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted in a cross-border raid on June 25, and halt rocket fire on Israeli cities.

At least three militants were injured in an early morning air strike near the Karni commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel, Palestinian medics and police said.

Seven Palestinians, including a 6-year-old girl and a policeman, on Saturday, Palestinian witnesses said.

I don't know if we'd ever see peace in the middle east in this lifetime... .