Israel, Palestinians begin talks to try to end Gaza war

World News
11-08-2014 | 02:42
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Israel, Palestinians begin talks to try to end Gaza war
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Israel, Palestinians begin talks to try to end Gaza war
Israel and the Palestinians began talks in Cairo on Monday to try and end the conflict in Gaza and lift the blockade on the coastal enclave, Egypt's state news agency MENA said. 

The indirect talks are being mediated by Egypt and began a day after the two sides agreed to begin a new 72-hour truce.


The Israeli military said one rocket was launched at the Tel Aviv area, in Israel's commercial heartland, before the ceasefire went into effect at 2100 GMT on Sunday and may have landed in the sea. Hamas said it fired the missile.       

A senior Israeli government official had said on Sunday Israeli negotiators would return to Cairo to resume indirect talks with the Palestinians only if the truce held.      

A month of war has killed 1,910 Palestinians and 67 Israelis while devastating wide tracts of densely populated Gaza.        

Gaza hospital officials say the Palestinian death toll has been mainly civilian since the July 8 launch of Israel's military campaign to quell Gaza rocket fire.      

Israel has lost 64 soldiers and three civilians, while heavy losses among civilians and the destruction of thousands of homes in Gaza have drawn international condemnation.      

The Israeli delegation to the Cairo talks had flown home on Friday when the sides failed to reach a deal to prolong a previous three-day truce.             

A Hamas official said on Sunday Palestinian factions had accepted Egypt's call and that the Cairo talks would continue. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that these new negotiations would be "the last chance" for a deal.       

Hamas has demanded an end to Israeli and Egyptian blockades of the Gaza Strip and the opening of a seaport in the enclave - a project Israel says should be dealt with only in any future talks on a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians.           

Egypt's Foreign Ministry urged "both sides to exploit this truce to resume indirect negotiations immediately and work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement".        

WEST BANK               

Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank on Monday during a raid on his house near the city of Nablus, local medical officials said.       

An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was aware of troop activity in the area but initially had no further details.          

Local witnesses said Zakaria al-Aqra, 23, was wanted by Israel and had been shot dead. Six other people were wounded. Part of Aqra's house was destroyed by an army bulldozer, they said.         

Aqra is the third Palestinian to be killed in Israeli-Palestinian clashes in the West Bank in four days. Tensions in the territory have run high during Israel's more than month-old war with Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip.       


REUTERS
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