Gaza ceasefire talks strained by fresh attacks

HAMAS officials said yesterday an agreement with Israel on a long-term ceasefire in Gaza could be announced within days, but a new cycle of attacks by both sides strained a temporary truce.

Two rockets and a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit southern Israel, the Israeli military said. No one was injured, and no Palestinian group took responsibility for the attacks.

Hours later, Israel retaliated with an air strike that killed a man and critically wounded another near the Gaza town of Khan Younis, Palestinian security officials said. The dead man was a member of the small, violent Popular Resistance Committees group.

The Israeli military said the men were planning an attack on Israel.

The Khan Younis strike was followed by air attacks on what the military said were six weapons-smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. The military said “secondary explosions” were observed at some of the sites, a phrase used to indicate that arms or explosives were stored there. A spokesman said the strikes were in response to the earlier Palestinian attacks.

There were no reports of Palestinian casualties in raids on the tunnels.

Rocket fire and shooting incidents along the Gaza-Israel border have persisted since the end of Israel’s devastating offensive against Hamas in the territory. Israel halted the operation on January 18. Hamas declared a ceasefire later the same day.

Yesterday’s exchanges came as Hamas officials said talks in Cairo on a long-term truce were close to success.

A Hamas delegation is in Egypt, and an Israeli envoy has been flying in periodically from Tel Aviv. Egypt is mediating between the two sides, as they will not talk directly to each other.