Gaza truce holding after shaky start

A fragile ceasefire extension between Hamas and Israel entered its second day Friday as the two sides in the Gaza conflict ponder Egyptian-mediated efforts to secure a lasting peace. Egyptian mediators brokered the five-day extension to an existing truce to allow for further negotiations on a long-term ceasefire to fighting that has killed 1,962 Palestinians and 67 people on the Israeli side since July 8. The calm held throughout Thursday, after a flurry of Hamas rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes the previous night, even if great uncertainty persists on both sides about the future. As the ceasefire continued, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Israel secured supplies of ammunition from the Pentagon last month without the approval of the White House or the State Department. President Barack Obama's administration, caught off guard as it tried to restrain Israel's campaign in Gaza, has since tightened controls on arms shipments to Israel, the newspaper said, quoting US and Israeli officials, according to AFP.