Gaza: Israel says yes, Hamas no to Egyptian truce. 188 dead in Gaza
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - An Egyptian brokered ceasefire put before Israel and Hamas this morning, has been accepted by the Netanyahu government but rejected by the Palestinian militants. Yesterday it had seemed that not even Israel would accept.
Cairo's truce proposal was
scheduled to begin this morning at
6am. This morning, however, a man
and a woman were killed in Gaza.
The woman was killed in Rafah, near the border with Egypt; the
elderly man, was killed in Khan Younes.
Their death was caused by the 25 raid, Israeli aircraft carried out last night on
the Strip in response to rockets
fired by Hamas militants against the cities of southern Israel.
In one week the Israeli
raids have left 188 dead and over 1,300 injured.
Palestinian hospital sources say that 25% of those
killed are children; The UN says that
two-thirds of those killed were
civilians. From the Israeli side,
in one week Hamas fired at least 800 rockets, causing
widespread damage and wounding four
Israelis, some seriously.
The Egyptian truce proposal was welcomed
by the Arab League and the United States and was carefully studied by the Israeli government until their decision to accept it this morning. The Israelis want their people to be able to live without fear of rocket fire from the Strip.
In fact the air raids were aimed at wiping out the rocket
launching sites.
Hamas has rejected the Egyptian proposal because it requires a comprehensive agreement with Israel. The militant organization demands an end to air raids, but also the end
of the Gaza blockade, in place since 2006, the opening of the Rafah crossing into Egypt and the release of prisoners arrested again after being released, following exchange agreement with the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit
in 2011.
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