Israel had earlier rejected international proposals for a ceasefire in its fight against Islamist militants in Gaza.
However, it is discussing changes to the truce plan with US Secretary of State John Kerry, a government source said.
Mediators hope that a truce could come into force ahead of a Muslim festival that starts early next week.
However, they have struggled to resolve seemingly irreconcilable demands from Israel and Hamas-led fighters, locked in conflict since 8 July.
- Hamas, which wants an end to an Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza before agreeing to halt hostilities, has yet to respond to the ceasefire proposition, which has not been made public.
"Kerry's proposal leans [too much] towards Hamas's demands," said the source.
Mr Kerry said tonight that there are still disagreements on the terminology for a Gaza truce, but he is confident there is a framework that will ultimately succeed.
He told reporters in Cairo that "serious progress" had been made on a truce but there was more work to do and he was sure that Mr Netanyahu is committed to working towards a ceasefire.
- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, also at the press conference, called for a seven-day humanitarian truce with an extendable 12-hour pause.
- A French diplomat has said that France is to host an international meeting on Saturday in an attempt to reach a ceasefire "as quickly as possible."
As diplomacy faltered, fighting raged.
Gaza officials said Israeli strikes killed 55 people today, including the head of media operations for Hamas ally Islamic Jihad and his son.
They put the number of Palestinian deaths in 18 days of conflict at 844, most of them civilians.
Militants fired a barrage of rockets out of Gaza, triggering sirens across much of southern and central Israel, including at the country's main airport.
No injuries were reported, with the Iron Dome interceptor system knocking out many of the missiles.
The Gaza turmoil stoked tensions in the nearby occupied West Bank, where US-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas governs in uneasy coordination with Israel.
Medics said six Palestinians were killed in separate incidents near the cities of Nablus and Hebron, including one shooting that witnesses blamed on an apparent Jewish settler.
Last night, 10,000 demonstrators marched in solidarity with Gaza near the Palestinian administrative capital Ramallah - a scale recalling mass revolts of the past.
Protesters surged against an Israeli army checkpoint, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, and Palestinian medics said one was shot dead and 200 wounded when troops opened fire.
Israel said three more of its soldiers were killed in Gaza today, bringing the army death toll to 35, as troops battled militants in the north, east and south of Gaza - a tiny Mediterranean enclave home to 1.8 million Palestinians.......................http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0725/632975-gaza-israel/
25/7/14
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Related:
15 Gazans die in Israeli attack on UNRWA school (Israeli officials have yet to comment on the incident)
His Holiness the Dalai Lama says violence in Gaza "unthinkable"
Deputy PMr and FM Venizelos’ statement on the situation in the Middle East, following the EU F.A. Council (Brussels, 22 July 2014)
Turkey key to Gaza ceasefire, says US State Department
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US Secretary of State John Kerry is due Saturday in Paris, where he will hold a new round of talks in an international effort to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led militants in Gaza....
ReplyDeleteKerry said he will meet with the foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey, primary supporters of Hamas, and top British and French diplomats in the French capital.
He was speaking at a press conference in Cairo, where he announced that talks held this week to negotiate a seven-day halt to the fighting had stalled over disagreements on the terminology of the proposed ceasefire deal. But Kerry said he was confident there is a framework that will ultimately succeed.
A target of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday next week had been set for reaching an agreement, Kerry said..................http://www.france24.com/en/20140725-gaza-ceasefire-john-kerry-israel-paris/
26/7/14
Govt source: Israel agrees to four-hour ceasefire extension...
ReplyDeleteIsrael has agreed to extend by four hours a humanitarian ceasefire agreed in Gaza, an Israeli government source has told Reuters news agency.
It was not immediately clear if Hamas had also agreed to prolong the original 12-hour ceasefire.
Scores of bodies have been recovered from rubble across Gaza during the initial, 12-hour ceasefire.................http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0726/633213-gaza-israel/
A major meeting between U.S., Turkish and Qatari top diplomats took place in Paris to support prospects of a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas....
ReplyDeletePARIS. -Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday that Israel rejected the proposal of a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
"We were very close to reaching a ceasefire, but Israel rejected the proposal at the last moment," Davutoglu said following a major meeting in Paris with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah.
The meeting came as Palestinian factions and Israel observed a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The pause began at 08:00 local time (05:00GMT).
Davutoglu added that Turkey would further increase its efforts for a long-term cease fire.
Since July 7, Israel has pummeled the Gaza Strip – from air, land and sea – with the ostensible aim of halting Palestinian rocket fire.
Around 1,000 Palestinians – mostly civilians – have been killed in devastating Israeli bombardments of the blockaded strip.
According to official Israeli figures, 40 Israelis – 37 soldiers and three civilians – have been killed since hostilities began.
Israel's operation "Protective Edge" is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip, which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians, within the last six years.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/365246--israel-rejects-gaza-ceasefire-says-turkish-fm
Israel extends Gaza humanitarian truce by 24 hours...
ReplyDeleteThe Israeli security cabinet decided Saturday night to extend a temporary ceasefire until midnight on Sunday, despite the resumption of rocket fire into Israel from Gaza after an agreed 12-hour initial truce.
The Israeli news website Haaretz.com reported that during this period, the army would continue to neutralize Gaza tunnels and would respond to attacks by Palestinian militants.
The cabinet is due to meet again on Sunday discuss the next steps in the military operation in Gaza.
Hamas said it fired several rockets at Israel late Saturday after rejecting a first offer by Israel to extend the initial truce by four hours..............................http://www.france24.com/en/20140726-gaza-truce-israel-extension-hamas/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire it had called for itself and pledged to do whatever must be done to protect his country....
ReplyDeleteIn an interview with CNN, he also brushed aside allegations that Israelis forces targeted civilians in the offensive against the Gaza Strip, and blamed Hamas for using local people as "human shields."
http://english.cntv.cn/2014/07/27/ARTI1406468873840186.shtml