Israel and Hamas began a 12-hour humanitarian truce in Gaza

International calls to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have achieved a first minimum agreement. Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian truce, which began Saturday at seven o’clock (CET Spanish). Hours before this covenant confirmed, the UN, the U.S. and Egypt proposed a truce of seven days, coinciding with the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr, on which so far the two parties have not agreed.

Despite the entry into force of the ceasefire, the night has left heavy bombardment and fighting in Gaza. Eight Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip. Four of them were children. Shortly after the Israeli navy has reported the death of two of its soldiers.

To search for a definitive end to the conflict, is scheduled to meet Saturday in Paris, Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry, with colleagues in France, Germany, UK, Qatar, Turkey and the EU, among other mediators, according to a French diplomatic source. Israeli sources cited by Reuters the Government’s security cabinet rejected Kerry’s proposal for a permanent ceasefire. The specific details of the truce proposed by the U.S. have not been made public. For now, we know that Israel has decided to propose some modifications after rejecting the request, according to this source.

The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted Netanyahu government sources, the proposal suggests that Kerry is too close to the positions of Hamas instead of giving “priority” to the safety concerns. The Israeli public television has said that the Netanyahu government demands that the Israeli army to remain in Gaza to continue the destruction of “attack tunnels” dug by Hamas, even during a possible truce.

A Western diplomat said that “if humanitarian truce, there will be serious negotiations.” While, yes, this source has prevented any premature optimism: ” The Israelis do not want to be imposed any condition.”

For its part, the Palestinian Islamist movement as a condition for a truce asked to remove blockade effective from 2006 to the Gaza Strip, where most of the 1.8 million people rely on humanitarian aid. Repeated demands in an interview with the BBC by Hamas chief Khaled Mechaaln were not fruitful.

The situation is tense in the West Bank, where five Palestinians were killed on Friday as part of a “day of rage” called by Palestinian organizations to protest the Israeli military operation. Also, one day before 16 people were killed in an attack on a UN school in Gaza. And the Islamic movement insists that fired three against Ben Gurion airport in Tel – Aviv. International traffic was disrupted and the suspension of several flights as a result of the fall of a rocket on Tuesday near the facility, what Hamas hailed as a great victory.

More than 820 Palestinians have been killed and 5,273 have been injured, according to the latest report from Palestinian sources. Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced Friday the death of another soldier, a reservist of 36 years. The Army has announced on Twitter that the soldier who had been missing since last week actually died in an operation in Gaza. Hamas rockets also killed two civilians in Israel and a farm worker from Thailand.

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Posted by Irfan Khokhar on Jul 26 2014. Filed under Latest News, Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.