Gaza militants 'seize Israeli soldier' as ceasefire ends
The ceasefire brokered by the US and UN crumbled after just four-and-a-half hours, as Nick Childs reports
Israeli forces are searching for a soldier believed captured, as a 72-hour truce with Hamas in Gaza collapsed just hours after it had begun.
The soldier, named as Hadar Goldin, 23, disappeared when Israeli forces trying to destroy a suspected militant tunnel were attacked, Israel's military said.
Two soldiers died in the firefight in southern Gaza Strip at 9:30 local time.
The Gaza health ministry said dozens were killed by Israeli shelling in the area shortly after the incident.
In 2006 Palestinian militants captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him for five years.
He was released in November 2011 in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas has not confirmed or denied capturing a soldier.
Bethany Bell in Jerusalem: Israel's response will be "crushing"
Jon Donnison reports from Gaza, where a woman gave birth to quadruplets on the eve of a 72-hour ceasefire, which has since broken down
Some 1,460 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the latest conflict and 63 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
The ceasefire had been brokered by the US and UN to give civilians a reprieve from the violence, and had been seen as an unforeseen breakthrough after days of diplomatic deadlock.
The White House blamed Hamas for the ceasefire's breakdown, describing the militant group's attack on the Israeli soldiers as "barbaric".
"This is an outrageous action and we look to the rest of the world to join us in condemning it," Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken told MSNBC.
Also on Friday, Palestinian and Israeli delegations arrived in Cairo, Egypt, with the hope of negotiating a longer-term cessation of hostilities, but Egyptian officials said the talks had now been postponed.
Gazans are trying to salvage their belongings
The clashes in Rafah came just four hours into what was meant be a 72-hour ceasefire, reinforcing just how difficult it is to get truces to last beyond a very short time. Both sides will have expected such violations.
While it held, much of Gaza was relatively quiet compared to the violence in recent weeks. The streets were slowly returning back to life as shops began to reopen. People had been taking the opportunity to stock up on much-needed supplies.
A steady stream of cars headed towards evacuated neighbourhoods close to the Israeli border. People here want to see if their houses are still standing and to try to salvage what's left of their belongings.
The BBC's Bethany Bell, in Jerusalem, says there had been enormous international pressure for a 72-hour lull to allow people in Gaza to bury their dead and restock with food.
During the morning life appeared to be returning to some kind of normality in Gaza, with many Palestinians heading towards heavily shelled areas to see if their homes were still intact.
But the Gaza health ministry reported that at least 35 Palestinians were killed and up to 100 injured in an Israeli attack near the southern town of Rafah after the ceasefire began.
Many Palestinians used the opportunity of the ceasefire to see if their homes were damaged
A senior Israeli official said Hamas had breached the ceasefire and Israel's response would be "crushing".
Earlier, Israeli foreign affairs spokesman Yigal Palmor told the BBC that Israeli forces had retaliated after being attacked in what seemed like a planned move by Hamas.
"There was a full-scale attack on an Israeli unit and this unit had to respond," he said.
"After it responded, Hamas started firing rockets on Israeli territory again and therefore the fighting resumed all along the line.
But Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoun said: "The Israelis are the ones who breached the ceasefire, and the Palestinian resistance acted in a way that ensures its right of self-defence."
Another Hamas official said the announcement of the soldier's capture was "a justification for Israel retreating from the truth and a cover-up for massacres".
Palestinian media reported that Hamas had called for a "day of anger" across the West Bank.
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