Israel and Hamas blame each other as rockets and air strikes end Gaza truce
The Guardian
A poll published by the Israel Democracy Institute found 92% of Jewish Israelis believed the war was justified and 48% of those questioned thought appropriate amount of force had been used by the Israeli military. Only 6% thought too much had been used, while 45% said too little force was used.
Israel and Hamas blame each other as rockets and air strikes end Gaza truce
Israel says air strikes are in response to rocket attacks but Hamas claims raids are bid to sabotage Cairo negotiations
Email
A Palestinian boy points to Israeli drones over Gaza City as an exchange of rockets and air strikes ended eight days of relative calm. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty
Israeli negotiators withdrew from peace talks in Cairo aimed at forging a durable ceasefire in the six-week war in Gaza on Tuesday night as rocket fire and air strikes resumed hours before the latest truce was due to expire.
Israel accused Hamas of violating the latest of a series of temporary ceasefires after rockets were launched from Gaza, triggering a swift military and political response. More than 25 airstrikes hit Gaza in response to rocket fire, killing a woman and a two-year-old girl and wounding at least 15 others in Gaza City. Two children were injured in Rafah, hospital officials said, and there were reports of hundreds of civilians fleeing their homes for UN shelters.
Israeli officials said 10 rockets were fired from Gaza, the first of which were launched around eight hours before the truce was due to end at midnight. Two were intercepted by Iron Dome, Israel's vaunted anti-missile defence system. Sirens sounded in the centre and south of the country, and bomb shelters within 80km of the Gaza border were reopened.
The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, ordered his negotiating team to leave talks in Cairo. An Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev, said. "The Cairo talks were based on an agreed premise of a total cessation of hostilities. When Hamas breaks the ceasefire, they also break the premise for the Cairo talks. Accordingly, the Israeli team has been called back as a result of today's rocket fire." It was not clear whether the team would return.
The Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, denied knowledge of the rocket fire, which Israel said had breached the truce. "We don't have any information about firing rockets from Gaza. The Israeli raids are intended to sabotage the negotiations in Cairo," he told reporters.
Palestinian negotiators said they have given up on one of their key demands in an attempt to secure a lasting ceasefire, three hours before the end of the existing five-day truce. In a proposal submitted to Israel after talks collapsed on Tuesday, the Palestinian delegation confirmed they were prepared to delay discussions about the building of a seaport and airport in Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank, until a date later in the month.
"There is an important Palestinian concession," said Qais Abdel Karim, a negotiator from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. "We accept for the first time a two-stage solution. There are the immediate measures – the opening of the crossings, and reconstruction measures. The airport and the seaport and the prisoners in the West Bank and also the so-called corpses will be dealt with in negotiations that will take place in a month."
Abdel Karim said a temporary extension of the ceasefire was still a possibility, but warned that a resumption of low-level armed conflict was also possible if the Israelis did not agree to their final concessions. "Tonight we're working on the possibility of a ceasefire. If there is a ceasefire there will be a resumption of the negotiations within the next few days. The Israelis have not informed the Egyptians formally that they have withdrawn from the process."
But he added: "We don't expect a fully-fledged war but maybe there will be a return to military action at a lower level but that depends completely on the Israelis."
Ezzat Rishq, a Hamas member of the negotiating team, claimed the Israeli delegation had flown home to present Palestinian demands to Israeli leaders. "The situation is still difficult and there is no agreement up until this moment between the two parties. The Israeli delegation has received the answer from the Palestinian delegation and is flying it over to the Israeli cabinet," he said.
"The probabilities are very weak and the situation is tough," he added, "and, practically, there are no more [talks] today."
Gaza had been relatively quiet for the previous eight days as two successive ceasefires allowed negotiations to go ahead. A third, 24-hour-long ceasefire was agreed in Cairo late on Monday night.
Amid fears in Gaza of further violence, it was unclear whether Tuesday's military action heralded a return to war or if the renewed exchanges would prove short-lived.
The Cairo talks have struggled to secure a durable, long-term deal to end the six-week conflict as both sides have sought a formula that would allow them to declare positive results from the war.
According to leaks, an outline agreement proposed by Egytpian mediators included opening crossings between Israel and Gaza, importing construction materials under international supervision, and expanding the permitted fishing zone to 12 miles over a period of six months.
The Palestinian demands for an airport and seaport, and the release of prisoners, were to be deferred to further talks next month.
Israel wants Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza disarmed, as well as the return of the remains of two soldiers killed in fighting, which Hamas is believed to hold.
All Palestinian factions say the demilitarisation of Gaza is not up for negotiation. But Hamas publicly claims it is ready to share power in Gaza with the Palestinian Authority, which currently runs the West Bank.
More than 2,000 people – including 541 children – have been killed in fighting since 8 July, and about 10,000 have been injured, according to the Gaza health ministry. About 17,000 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, along with scores of mosques, schools and hospitals.
A poll published by the Israel Democracy Institute found 92% of Jewish Israelis believed the war was justified and 48% of those questioned thought appropriate amount of force had been used by the Israeli military. Only 6% thought too much had been used, while 45% said too little force was used.
Israel has lost 64 soldiers in fighting, including five killed by friendly fire. Three civilians – two Israelis and a Thai agricultural worker – were killed by rockets launched from Gaza.
'Staakt-het-vuren voorbij na nieuwe raketaanvallen uit Gaza' ›,