Update 2 | Israel PM accuses Hamas of violating ceasfire; government calls for restraint

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of violating its own offer of a 24-hour humanitarian truce in Gaza.

Earlier, Hamas agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire in its conflict with Israel in the Gaza strip. A spokesman for Hamas said its ceasefire would start from 14:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

“In response to the UN intervention and considering the situation of our people and the occasion of Eid, it has been agreed among resistance factions to endorse a 24-hour humanitarian calm, starting from 2pm on Sunday,” Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, told Reuters.

However, notwithstanding the ceasefire, Netanyahu has accused Hamas of continuing to fire at Israel, and accused the Palestinian military group of violating five ceasefires that they had agreed upon.

In addition, Netanyahu said that Israel “will take whatever action is necessary to protect the Israeli people,” and that Israel’s goal is to the “demilitarisation of Gaza.”

Despite the ceasefire, the sound of heavy bombing continued in Gaza, while sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the border area, suggesting Palestinian militants had fired missiles at them.

Meanwhile, the government this morning called on Israel and Palestine to “exercise restraint and avoid the continued loss of innocent civilian lives.”

“The government continues to closely follow the situation in Gaza. It deeply regrets the collapse of humanitarian truce proposed in Paris yesterday and the resumption of the Israeli military operation in Gaza and the firing of rockets into Israel.”

It said that while stopping the bloodshed is an immediate priority and attempts at a durable ceasefire should persist, this should not happen in a vacuum, as clear parameters defining the basis for negotiations are essential for a lasting solution.

Foreign affairs minister George Vella condemned “the unprecedented number of civilian casualties in Gaza.”

Vella also said that the recent killing of women, children and UN staff during an attack on a UN school shelter was “deplorable.

Israel resume Gaza bombardment after 12-hour ceasefire

Earlier, the Israeli resumed its aerial, naval, and ground activity of the Gaza strip attributing its decision to "Hamas's incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the civilian population in Gaza".

On Saturday, a 12-hour ceasefire came into force between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip at 8am. The truce offered respite to Palestinians who scrambled for food and searched for the dead.

Palestine had rejected a 24-hour-long ceasefire extension, claiming that it is unacceptable for Israel not to include a provision for the withdrawal of Israeli troops, for residents in Gaza to return to their homes, and for the evacuation of the injured.

The rejection prompted Israel to resume its bombardment. Smoke was seen over several locations in Gaza shortly after the announcement.

Ammar Hijazi, an official in the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also told Al Jazeera that the Palestinian people are “seriously concerned” at Israel’s decision to resume its bombardment.

Hijazi also blamed Israel of not being interested in respecting the ceasefire, and claimed “Israel is using the death of three Israeli teenagers as an excuse to launch its aggression against Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza.”

So far, over 1,000 civilians have been killed and more than 6,000 injured in the conflict that has now entered its 20th day. 43 Israeli soldiers have been killed, along with three civilians.