Hamas hopeful of temporary Gaza ceasefire

Egypt and Hamas are close to a deal for a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group in Gaza, where the death toll from the Israeli offensive exceeded 1,000, officials said.

Egyptian and Hamas officials expressed optimism that an agreement for a temporary halt in fighting could be sealed soon and presented to Israel.

But even if all sides sign on, further talks will be needed to resolve contentious disputes over policing Gaza’s borders and ensure a longer-term truce.

“We’re working with Hamas and we’re working with the Israeli side. We hope to reach an outcome soon,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told the BBC.

Battles picked up early today north and south of Gaza City, where explosions and gunfire could be heard. Also, seven were killed in two separate airstrikes. Hospital officials said four militants died in an airstrike shortly after midnight in southern Gaza, and three people were killed an hour later in Gaza City.

Before sunrise three Palestinians were killed in battles in northern Gaza, including two civilians, hospital officials said.

Two firefighters were killed in an airstrike as they tried to extinguish a blaze in a residential building in northern Gaza City late Wednesday, Palestinian medics said. A shell had been fired at the apartment, causing the blaze.

The offensive has killed at least 1,028 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, including 300 children and teenagers, Gaza Health Ministry officials said.

More than 4,500 Palestinians have been wounded, medical officials said. Thirteen Israelis have also been killed, four by rocket fire from Gaza.

Nine Israeli human rights groups accused the army of endangering Gazan civilians and called for a war crimes investigation.

The groups wrote to Israeli leaders that the Gaza campaign has left civilians with nowhere to flee. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel supports freedom of expression, even if an opinion “is not based on any solid evidence and even if it is tainted with political bias”.

Guerrillas in Lebanon sent rockets crashing into northern Israel yesterday for the second time in a week, drawing an Israeli artillery barrage and threatening to drag the Jewish state into a second front.

Egyptian and Hamas officials held intensive talks in Cairo. Late yesterday, Salah al-Bardawil, a Gaza-based Hamas official, stopped short of saying Hamas had accepted the Egyptian proposal. He told reporters that “we submitted our points of view” on the proposed deal, adding, “We hope that this Egyptian effort will succeed.”