Fresh 72-hr ceasefire holds in Gaza
Monday, 11 August 2014
A fresh 3-day ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was holding on Monday. The agreement which took effect at midnight (21:00 GMT on Sunday) came after days of intense mediation by Egypt. If the truce continues to hold, Israel will send negotiators to Cairo today (Monday) for talks on a longer-term deal. About 2,000 people, most of them Palestinians, were killed in the more than a month old conflict which began on July 8 when Israel launched an operation intended to deter rocket attacks by Palestinian faction Hamas from Gaza Strip. Those killed include more than 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the UN. Sixty-seven people have died on the Israeli side, including three civilians. Minutes before the new ceasefire began, Hamas militants claimed to have fired several rockets at Israel, including one at Tel Aviv, but there were no reports of damage, according to BBC.