Egypt calls for Gaza ceasefire as fighting rages

Egypt has called on Israel and the Palestinians to halt fire and resume peace talks, but violence continued unabated with Hamas firing rockets at Israel which retaliating by carrying out air strikes in Gaza Strip. A senior Egyptian diplomat has said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had informed Sisi that Hamas was prepared to come to Cairo for further talks, but Hamas did not immediately confirm the report. Israel also had no immediate comment. Gaza health officials said five people, including two children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in central Gaza on Saturday and Sunday. Four more Palestinians were killed in other strikes. The Israeli military said it bombed about 20 targets across Hamas-controlled Gaza, including rocket launchers and weapon caches. It said Hamas militants had fired more than 40 rockets at Israel and no Israeli casualties were reported. Indirect ceasefire talks mediated by Egypt to end the deadly six-week conflict collapsed on Tuesday after rockets were fired from Gaza during a truce and Israel responded with air strikes, according to a news agency.