2012.
A delegation of Palestinian officials from various factions, including Hamas, has been negotiating with Egypt in recent days. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the group had accepted the plan.
“It’s clear now that the interest of all parties is to have a cease-fire,” said Bassam Salhi, a member of the Palestinian delegation. “It’s going to be tough negotiations because Israel has demands too. We don’t have any guarantees the siege will be removed.”
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki late Monday said the U.S. strongly supports the latest cease-fire proposal and urges “both parties to respect it completely.” A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he urged the parties to begin talks as soon as possible in Cairo on a durable cease-fire “and the underlying issues.”
Hamas is seeking a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an end to an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory, the release of Hamas prisoners held by Israel and international assistance in the reconstruction of Gaza.
Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to its destruction, from arming. But the Palestinians and members of the international community have criticized the blockade as collective punishment. The blockade, known to the Palestinians as “the siege,” has ground Gaza’s economy to a standstill.
Israel has demanded that Gaza become “demilitarized,” requiring the unlikely cooperation of Hamas in giving up its significant arsenal.
“We will be putting first on our agenda preventing Hamas from rearming,” Regev said. “Ultimately the Palestinians have a written commitment that Gaza should be demilitarized and it’s time the international community held them to that commitment.”
Israel had been signaling in recent days that it was winding down its military campaign. On Sunday, it withdrew most of its ground forces from Gaza, and the army said the pullout was continuing Monday.
In addition, Israel declared a seven-hour pause Monday in its air campaign for what it called a “window” to allow much-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Supermarkets were open for business and more cars were on the streets than during any of the short-lived cease-fires since the war began. Fresh fruits and vegetables were available in outdoor markets.
Despite a drop in military activity, Israel still attacked 38 targets, though well below the levels of recent days.
At least 20 people were killed Monday, including three children — an 8-year-old girl in the Shati refugee camp and a 12-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister in the southern border town of Rafah, according to Palestinian medical officials. Still, that was far below the levels during the heaviest fighting.
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz, disputed Palestinian claims that the vast majority of the dead were civilians.
“We estimate that between 700 and 900 terrorists were killed in direct contact with Israeli soldiers,” he told Channel 2 TV. “That’s a number that could rise because there were many terrorists inside the tunnels that were probably killed when the tunnels were blown up.”
