Israel carrying out multiple air strikes on Gaza, 6 Palestinians killed

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FE Team | Published: August 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

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GAZA CITY, Aug 23 (agencies): Israel kept up the pressure on Hamas in Gaza  Saturday, carrying out multiple air strikes that killed six Palestinians, five of them from the same family, as Egypt prepared to convene new truce talks.
Eighty-three Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy been killed since Tuesday, when a previous round of frantic Egyptian diplomacy collapsed, shattering nine days of calm.
"Egypt is going to invite delegates to return to the negotiating table to consider a long-term truce," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
"What interests us now is putting a stop to the bloodshed," Abbas said.
"As soon as a ceasefire goes into effect, the two sides can sit down and discuss their demands."
Abbas's meeting with Sisi came after he held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, whose Islamist movement is the de facto ruler of Gaza.
 Meanwhile: Egypt is to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegations to return to Cairo to resume talks on a long-term truce for Gaza, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas announced on Saturday.
"Egypt is going to invite delegates to return to the negotiating table to consider a long-term truce," Abbas said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Egypt's foreign ministry, meanwhile, issued a statement calling for "concerned parties to accept a ceasefire of unlimited duration and to resume indirect negotiations in Cairo".
A previous round of truce talks collapsed on Tuesday, shattering nine days of calm, as the deadly six-week conflict between Israel and its Islamist foe Hamas resumed.
Since then, 84 Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have died as a result of the violence.
"As soon as a ceasefire goes into effect, the two sides can sit down and discuss their demands," Abbas said, adding that the Palestinian delegation would include Hamas as in past rounds.
Abbas's meeting with Sisi came after he held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, whose Islamist movement is the de facto ruler of Gaza.
Israel has vowed no let-up until it can guarantee the safety of its civilians, while Hamas insists that Israel must end its eight-year blockade of the territory as part of any truce.
Meanwhile: A senior Hamas leader says the group signed a pledge to back any Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court. Such a step could expose Israel - as well as Hamas - to war crimes investigations. Moussa Abu Marzouk wrote on his Facebook page early Saturday that "Hamas has signed the paper" of support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas requested before joining the court.