Israel targets 'terror sites'; Hamas OKs cease-fire
After a three-day cease-fire ended Wednesday, the Israeli military said it was targeting "terror sites" across Gaza after five rockets were launched into Israel. The move came as Egyptian and Palestinian officials announced all sides had agreed to extend the truce five days for more negotiations.
It was not clear if the fighting was isolated or might shatter the truce. Israel had no immediate comment on the extension.
Egypt's foreign ministry and the head of the Palestinian negotiating team, Azzam al-Ahmad, announced the agreement for the five-day extension. Al-Ahmad said it was to ensure a "positive atmosphere," noting there had been "lots of progress" in the indirect talks taking place in Cairo.
Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said at least one rocket that was fired two hours before the cease-fire was set to expire exploded in open land in southern Israel and caused no damage or injuries,
Hamas denied responsibility for that attack.
"I can't believe it. Really," said Adele Raemer on the Facebook page she moderates for Israelis who live close to the Gaza border.
Raemer said the 70 hours that the latest cease-fire held "have been too good to be true. That is NOT a normal thing to say about life — that not being shot at has been too good to be true."
The rocket firing came as the Israeli military moved units closer to Gaza, and Palestinian militants threatened to resume rocket attacks as negotiators from both sides took a break from their talks in Cairo.
President Obama spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hours before the cease-fire expired about a possible long-term truce with the Palestinians, said National Security Council spokesman Benjamin Rhodes.
It was the first time Obama and Netanyahu spoke by phone since July 27. The two leaders spoke three times between July 10 and July 27.
Both sides in the negotiations are considering an Egyptian proposal that would ease parts of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, bringing some relief to the territory. The proposal would not lift the blockade completely, as Hamas had demanded, or require Hamas to disarm, as Israel wants.
Israel Defense Forces earlier said its infantry, artillery and armor units moved from "assembly areas" to "assessment areas" where they'd be ready to go into action.
The fighting, which began July 8, has resulted in 67 Israeli casualties, including two civilians and a Thai guest worker, and at least 1,951 Palestinians deaths, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel says about a third of the Palestinian deaths are militants.
Hamas, which launched more than 3,500 rockets at Israeli territory, seeks to end a blockade that Israel says is needed to prevent weapons and fortification materials from reaching the militant group that has controlled Gaza since a violent takeover in 2007.
Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas leader in Gaza, said in a recorded statement broadcast earlier Wednesday on Hamas radio that "achieving a permanent truce can come only through lifting the blockade on Gaza."
Netanyahu has said he seeks a demilitarized Gaza. Israel has launched thousands of airstrikes during the current conflict and sent ground forces into Gaza to find and destroy tunnels used by militants to infiltrate Israel. Netanyahu has said he seeks an end to rocket attacks from Gaza and for the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the West Bank and is led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to control security on Gaza borders.
Egypt and Israel share security concerns about Gaza, which has been a source of militants and arms that have attacked military and civilian targets in both countries.
Both Israel and Egypt have made proposals that include elements similar to a cease-fire negotiated in 2012 with the help of then-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, an ideological ally of Hamas. Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood colleagues have since been ousted from power and outlawed by a military-led coalition.
The latest proposals for a long-term truce include payments for Hamas employees in Gaza, a key Hamas demand, but with more monitoring and other measures to prevent Hamas from benefiting from the conflict or rebuilding fortifications and tunnels, said Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine.
Egypt has the backing of Persian Gulf monarchies, especially Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, "but there haven't been any pledges" of cash for reconstruction, Ibish said.
A major concern of those countries is "to prevent Hamas from benefiting from the economic benefits of construction," Ibish said. "I don't think anyone's going to be pledging anything to a process that doesn't have a process figured out."
The Egyptian proposal was leaked by Palestinian sources, according to Ynet, and would give the Palestinian Authority an expanded role in Gaza's security and economic welfare. It would:
• Postpone for a month talks on building a seaport and airport for Gaza, as well as returning Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody and the bodies of two of Israeli soldiers seized by Hamas.
• Open border crossings between Israel and Gaza for people and goods, including construction materials. Israel would authorize trade between Gaza and the West Bank, under Palestinian Authority supervision.
• Put the Palestinian Authority in charge of Gaza's border security and reduce the perimeter that is off limits to Gazans to 300 feet from 900 feet by November.
• Expand Gaza's fishing area to 12 miles from 6 miles and have the Palestinian Authority coordinate Gaza's financial issues with Israel.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Michele Chabin in Jerusalem; David Jackson in Washington