A general view of the remains of a mosque, which witnesses said was hit by an Israeli air strike, is seen in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip August 25, 2014.

Two Palestinians were killed on Tuesday in an Israeli air raid on Gaza, medical sources said.

The deaths take to 2,136 the number of Palestinians killed since July 8 when the Israeli offensive started. An army spokesman said Israel carried out 15 raids since 2100 GMT Monday, while several Hamas rockets were fired at Israel Tuesday morning.

One of the rockets was destroyed by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system in the greater Tel Aviv area, according to Agence France-Presse.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement that they fired “a rocket at Haifa and four at the Tel Aviv region” in reprisal for the attacks against the 14- and 16-storey buildings.

Two rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon late Monday, an army spokeswoman said. Israel had earlier only mentioned one such attack.

Egyptian mediators proposed on Monday a new ceasefire that would open the crossings of the blockaded Gaza Strip and allow in aid and reconstruction materials, a senior Palestinian official said, as the Israeli army continued its almost two-month long offensive on the enclave.

The Palestinians, including the de facto Hamas rulers of the enclave, would be willing to accept such a deal if Israel does, the official told Agence France-Presse.

The proposal would defer to a later date negotiations on disputed points that have prevented a long-term ceasefire deal, he added.

An Egyptian official confirmed that mediators have contacted the Palestinians and Israel with a new proposal.

“There is an idea for a temporary ceasefire that opens the crossings, allows aid and reconstruction material, and the disputed points will be discussed in a month,” the Palestinian official said.

“We would be willing to accept this, but are waiting for the Israeli response to this proposal,” he said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

 
[wpResize]