Gaza-Israel truce extended for five more days

Israeli soldiers wait to unload an armored personnel carrier at a new deployment position near the Gaza border on August 13, 2014.

Wed Aug 13, 2014 10:9PM

Truce has been extended for five more days in the besieged Gaza Strip as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators continue talks to reach a long-term deal.

Azzam al-Ahmad, the head of the Palestinian delegation, made the announcement less than an hour before a 72-hour truce expired at midnight local time (21:00 GMT).

"We have agreed to give more time for the negotiations," said Ahmad in the Egyptian capital Cairo, where the negotiations are taking place.

The two sides have failed to reach an agreement on a long-term truce in the besieged enclave.

Meanwhile, Israeli media claimed that the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas violated the temporary truce by firing several rockets before it came to an end, an allegation Hamas denied.

Earlier in the day, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said a long-term truce with Israel could be achieved only through the complete removal of a seven-year-old blockade on war-torn Gaza.

Israeli warplanes have been carrying out incessant airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip since July 8.

Nearly 1,960 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have lost their lives and at least 10,100 have been injured despite pressure from the international community on the Tel Aviv regime to end the military aggression.

Moreover, nearly 400,000 Palestinian children are in immediate need of psychological help due to “catastrophic and tragic impact” of the Israeli war, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

 

Source