12-HOUR TRUCE COMES INTO FORCE IN GAZA
Gaza City, 28 Ramadan 1435/26 July 2014 (MINA) – Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian truce to begin at 8am (05:00 GMT) on Saturday to pause hostilities in Gaza.
Humanitarian pause in fighting begins at 05:00 GMT as diplomatic efforts continue on a longer-lasting ceasefire. Hamas said that it and other armed groups in Gaza had reached “national consensus on a humanitarian truce”.
Israel later confirmed that it would observe what it called “a humanitarian window in the Gaza Strip”, mediated by the UN, Al Jazeera and international news agencies quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Saturday.
A few minutes into the scheduled start of the ceasefire, Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said it is still difficult to know if the fighting has stopped in all parts of the Gaza Strip.
“Sometimes it does continue in pockets for a little while. It may take some time for the ceasefire to completely come into effect,” she said.
In the lead-up to the ceasefire, our correspondent said the battles were “incredibly heavy” on Saturday overnight.
“Rockets have been fired from Gaza. I heard constant sounds of shelling from the Israeli navy ships that are positioned just off the coast,” she said.
At least 10 houses in Gaza were reportedly struck by Israeli aircraft overnight, she said, including in one in the town of Khan Younis, where at least 20 people died.
“Ahead of the ceasefire, it was a very difficult night for the people of Gaza”, Al Jazeera’s Johnston said.
Diplomatic push
Speaking in Egypt, Kerry confirmed the rejection but said diplomats were still trying to work out a deal.
“We still have terminology and context to work through, but we are confident we have a framework that will work, and we will continue to work for that … none of us here are stopping.”
Kerry met Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, in Cairo on Friday, and spoke by telephone to his Qatari and Turkish counterparts.
He will fly to Paris on Saturday for another conference on Gaza.
Israel has already indicated it plans to step up its incursion into the Palestinian territory.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that 870 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s assault on Gaza began on July 8. More than 5,740 have been injured.
Rockets fired from Gaza into Israel have killed two Israeli civilians and a Thai migrant worker. A total of 35 Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza.
The growing casualties in Gaza have caused anger in the West Bank, prompting two days of mass protests in several cities and ensuing clashes with the Israeli police that killed at least nine Palestinians.
Al Jazeera’s Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from the West Bank, said Israeli forces used live rounds and tear gas to disperse protesters.
“In Hebron, 16 people were been injured after Israeli forces opened live fire on protesters. In Jenin, 14 people were hurt, most suffering gunshot wounds,” he said.
“In Bethlehem, five were injured, one reportedly critically after being shot in the chest.” (T/E01/IR)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
