Hospital hit; Israel, Hamas trade blame

At least eight children killed at Gaza refugee camp, Gaza's Health Ministry saysIsrael blames "failed" rockets launched by Gaza for attack on hospitalHamas-run television reports that hospital in Gaza hit by "direct" Israeli drone strikePalestinians report the death toll has topped 1,000; Israel reports death toll of 46

Jerusalem (CNN) -- At a refugee camp near the beach in Gaza, parents took their children out to play. It's Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Children need to be children, even during war.

A boy named Mohammed was happy for a moment playing in the street yards from his family's front door.

Then an explosion, and the ground shook. Holes as large as fists pockmarked a nearby building, and 10 people -- eight of them children -- were killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

In the chaos, they were rushed to nearby Shifa Hospital A TV news outlet run by Hamas showed live footage of the hospital. The channel blamed the carnage on an Israeli drone.

Shifa Hospital had been hit, too. Two people there were injured, the ministry said.

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Neither side debated that people died.

Mohammed Abu Shaqfa was 6, neighbors told CNN.

Mohammed and other boys were playing with toy guns -- a game they call "dom-dom."

Other children were in the street, celebrating Eid. Some were riding on a small Ferris wheel. Residents were shopping in a small store.

A plastic pistol lay next to a pool of blood. It was broken, its spring popped out.

Shrapnel had blown holes in walls and the steel shutters off shop fronts.

Neighbors talked about Mohammed, a child who loved math and soccer. He idolized FC Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi, they said.

A man wheeled a bloodied stretcher.

"In the blink of an eye," a father said, "I found body parts and heads cut off, no arms, no legs. I started to collect limbs, heads I couldn't recognize, I couldn't recognize my own children."

Deaths in Israel, too

In Israel, the country's rescue services said two Israelis were severely wounded when a mortar shell struck the Eshkol region.

Also, a mortar attack killed at least four Israelis and injured eight others near Beeri, Israel, which is close to the border with Gaza.

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The United Nations said a halt in violence would allow urgently needed assistance to reach Gaza. At a midnight meeting, the U.N. Security Council proclaimed its support for "a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders as envisioned in Security Council resolution 1850 (2008)."

That fell short of Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour's desires. He wanted the body to pass a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

"The equation is simple," Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor said. "When it is quiet in Israel, it will be quiet in Gaza."

Calls, hopes for peace

Secretary of State John Kerry has just returned to the United States from a trip to the Middle East and Paris, where he held discussions to try to calm the violence between Israel and Gaza.

"Today we are continuing to work toward establishing an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire," he said.

The cease-fire needs to "stop the fighting, allow desperately needed food and medicine and other supplies into Gaza and enable Israel to address the threat" of attacks on Israel enabled by tunnels snaking from Gaza into the country, he said.

"Hopefully, if we can make some progress, the people in this region who deserve peace can take one step toward that elusive goal," Kerry said.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that he hoped for sustained calm "as soon as possible."

U.S. President Barack Obama had another phone conversation with Netanyahu on Sunday, underscoring the administration's "strong condemnation" of Hamas attacks and reaffirming "Israel's right to defend itself," the White House said. The President reiterated concern about the rising Palestinian civilian deaths, Israeli deaths and the "worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza."

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the country was maintaining an "unlimited humanitarian cease-fire," saying that Israeli troops fire only when they are attacked.

The tunnels

A central goal of Israel's military is to destroy tunnels that Hamas uses to smuggle weapons and launch attacks.

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"I know the situation is so much complex -- I'm not saying I know the picture as a whole," he responded. But, he said, Gaza is now like a burning building. "We need to get the people out, and then we need to extinguish the fire, and then we sit down and talk."

Erakat called for Israel to pull troops out of Gaza.

Israel isn't acting in self-defense, he said. "They're the occupying power. They should be responsible for the human lives there."

Erakat said U.N. figures show "90% of those killed are women and children."

It was unclear what he was basing those figures on. The United Nations estimates that more than 70% of the Palestinians killed were civilians, including 226 youths and 117 women. More than 150 were members of armed groups, the United Nations says.

UNICEF said Monday that about two-thirds of the children killed were 12 or younger.

Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, saying militants encourage people to stay in their homes despite Israeli warnings that strikes are coming. Militants also use civilian facilities such as homes, schools, mosques and hospitals to launch attacks on Israeli civilians and store weapons.

Israel, meanwhile, has reported far more "terrorists" killed in Gaza than Palestinian officials have reported.

Israel says 43 of its troops and three civilians have been killed in the conflict, including a few soldiers by friendly fire.

The country's Iron Dome missile defense system has thwarted many rockets that could have caused untold civilian casualties in Israeli population centers.

Israel: We're not responsible for last week's school deaths

The Israeli military said it was not responsible for anyone killed last week when an "errant Israeli mortar" hit the courtyard of a U.N. school that was shelter to many Gaza residents.

U.N. and Palestinian officials said 16 people were killed and hundreds were wounded Thursday when the school in northern Gaza was struck.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said militants had fired anti-tank missiles from the immediate area of the school, and the IDF fired several mortar shells back in that direction.

"A single errant Israeli mortar landed in the courtyard in the school," Lerner said. "The footage we have shows the courtyard was empty."

"We reject the claim that people were killed by the IDF mortar on the school premises," he added. But Lerner said there could have been people who were wounded by shrapnel.

When asked how Israel could know whether people were killed versus injured in the school yard, the Prime Minister's spokesman said the incident was tragic.

"First of all, what happened at the school was a tragedy. Innocent people were killed," said the spokesman, Mark Regev. "The question is who is responsible, and for that we have to look at seriously and judiciously and make sure we get to the truth."

A CNN team that visited the shelter several hours after the mortar attack saw evidence that people were badly wounded at the courtyard.

The team saw blood and strewn possessions concentrated close to the edge of the courtyard along the wall of the building, the area that would have been shady around 3 p.m. when the school was hit.

The IDF released a high-altitude aerial video of the round hitting the school, but it did not have high resolution and it is impossible to tell if anybody was sitting on the courtyard edge.

CNN has asked the IDF for a higher-resolution version of the video, as well as a version that includes a time stamp.

The team also saw a shrapnel field ranging from a few inches above the ground to the top of the main three-story school building, with the blast field extending down the corridor of the main school building.

Security experts that CNN consulted said the shallow point of detonation was consistent with a mortar round set to "airburst," meaning it would explode a few feet above the ground to maximize enemy casualties.

Read: What is Hamas' endgame in Gaza?

Read: What is Israel's endgame in Gaza?

Read: Opinion: Gaza peace struggle drains me of hope

Map: Tension felt around the world

CNN's Sara Sidner reported from Jerusalem, and CNN's Karl Penhaul reported from Gaza; Ashley Fantz wrote from Atlanta; and Richard Roth reported from the United Nations. CNN's Holly Yan, Ali Younes, Josh Levs, Yousuf Basil, Salma Abdelaziz, Elise Labott, Tim Lister and Amir Tal contributed to this report.

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