Cease-fire in Gaza holds for second day

A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that ended a month of war was holding for a second day Wednesday, ahead on negotiations in Cairo on a long-term truce and a broader deal for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. In the coming days, Egyptian mediators are to shuttle between delegations from both sides to try to work out a deal. Some details have emerged about the negotiating points of Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, including an internationally funded reconstruction that would be overseen by a Palestinian unity government led by President Mahmoud Abbas. Meanwhile, Norway is organizing a donor conference and the Western-backed Abbas is expected to take the lead in overseeing the rebuilding in the coastal territory, which his Fatah movement lost to Hamas in 2007. The cease-fire is the longest lull in a war that has killed nearly 1,900 Palestinians. Israel has lost 67 people, including three civilians. The war broke out on July 8, when the Israeli military began bombarding targets in Gaza in an attempt to stop Hamas from launching rockets at Israel. On July 17, Israel sent ground troops into the densely-populated territory to destroy underground tunnels it said Hamas had constructed for attacks inside Israel, according to Yahoo News.