Aug 2, 2014

Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll.

Reuters photographer Amir Cohen spent some time inside Israel’s network of bomb shelters July 31, 2014.

: A wall with a painted sign is seen in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Books are seen on a shelf at the entrance to a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Bottles of an alcoholic drink are seen in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: An Israeli boy plays in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Israelis are seen in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. The writings on the wall in Hebrew spells out the names of families and the names of the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip “Operation Protective Edge, Operation Pillar Defense, Operation Cast Lead”. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: A dog walks next to the entrance to a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Decorations on walls are seen at the entrance to a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Israelis are seen in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Israeli girls go down the stairs into a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Israelis are seen in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. The writings on the wall in Hebrew spells out the names of families and the names of the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip “Operation Protective Edge, Operation, Operation Cast Lead”. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: An Israeli woman blowdries a teenager’s hair in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: Israeli truck drivers wait inside a bomb shelter at Kerem Shalom crossing August 1, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday and killed more than 50 Palestinians in renewed shelling, saying militants had breached the truce shortly after it began and apparently captured an Israeli soldier. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

: A wall decorated with paintings by children are seen in a bomb shelter in the Israeli southern city of Ashkelon July 31, 2014. Israel declared a Gaza ceasefire over on Friday, saying Hamas militants breached the truce soon after it came in effect and apparently captured an Israeli officer while killing two other soldiers. The 72-hour break announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting, and followed mounting international alarm over a rising Palestinian civilian death toll. The words in Hebrew read, “Protective Edge”. Picture taken July 31, 2014. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

: Mortar bombs are seen in containers at an Israeli military staging area near the border with Gaza July 30, 2014. The Israeli military said on Wednesday it would hold fire unilaterally in limited areas of the Gaza Strip for four hours from 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) for humanitarian purposes, an army statement said. Hamas described the truce as a media stunt because it only applied to some areas. (Amir Cohen/Reutrs)

Inside Israel’s bomb shelters

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