No ceasefire talks, says Israel

Israel will not participate in indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas for now and instead plans to scale back its 26-day military operation in Gaza on its own terms, according to officials and media reports.

No ceasefire talks, says Israel

Israel will not participate in indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas for now and instead plans to scale back its 26-day military operation in Gaza on its own terms, according to officials and media reports.

Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz said Israel will not send a delegation to proposed truce talks in Egypt.

Speaking to the Channel 10 television station, he alleged that Hamas has repeatedly violated previous ceasefire deals and that this “leads us to the conclusion that with this organisation there is no point speaking” about any deal.

An Israeli official told the Associated Press that troops will remain in Gaza to wrap up the demolition of Hamas tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border, but that this is a matter of “not much more time”.

Israeli media reported that 31 tunnels have already been demolished and that the mission was close to being complete.

Alluding to a 72-hour truce that went into effect on Friday but unravelled less than two hours later, Mr Steinitz said: “We are currently not sending any representative to Cairo because we agreed to several ceasefires and the Egyptian proposal time after time, and the last time was yesterday.

“That leads us to the conclusion that with this organisation there is no point in speaking about an agreement or a ceasefire because we have tried it too many times.”

In other signals of a troop redeployment within Gaza, the military told residents of the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya that it would be safe for them to return to their homes.

The area, from which Gaza militants had fired rockets at Israel in the past, had come under heavy tank fire during Israel’s ground operation, forcing thousands of residents to flee the area.

The Israeli official said the army announcement concerning Beit Lahiya is “a signal that things are pretty much being wrapped up”.

Israeli troops and tanks also started a gradual redeployment away from the area east of the south-central Gaza town of Khan Younis to the border with Israel, residents and police officials said.

Israel ended a previous major military operation in Gaza more than five years ago with a unilateral pullback.

Commenting on reports of Israel scaling down its Gaza operations, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a text message that “a unilateral withdrawal by the occupation imposes no obligation on us and the resistance factions”.

Since Gaza war began on July 8, more than 1,650 Palestinians – mostly civilians - have been killed and more than 8,000 wounded, according to Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra.

Israel has lost 63 soldiers and three civilians, its highest death toll since the 2006 Lebanon war. Hundreds of other soldiers have been wounded.

News of a possible reduction in Israeli military operations in Gaza came as troops continued their search for infantry 2nd Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who the military said it believes was grabbed in a Hamas ambush about an hour after Friday’s internationally brokered cease-fire took effect.

The soldier’s alleged capture has prompted widespread international condemnation, with US president Barack Obama, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and others accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire and calling for the soldier’s immediate release.

The Hamas military wing said on its website that it is “not aware until this moment of a missing soldier or his whereabouts or the circumstances of his disappearance”.

The group said the soldier might have been killed in a clash with Hamas fighters about an hour before the start of the ceasefire, and that it had lost contact with the fighters.

“We believe all members of this group have died in an (Israeli) strike, including the Zionist soldier the enemy says disappeared,” it said.

The Israeli military declined comment on the statement.

Elsewhere in Gaza, Palestinian officials today reported more than 150 Israeli airstrikes, including several against mosques and one against the Hamas-linked Islamic University in Gaza City. Heavy shelling also continued along the border areas.

The Israeli military said it struck 200 targets over the previous 24 hours.

It said it attacked five mosques that concealed weapons and that the Islamic University was being used as a research and weapons manufacturing site for Hamas.

Gaza militants, meanwhile, have fired 74 rockets at Israel since midnight, according to the Israeli military. Seven of them were intercepted by Israel’s rocket defense system, it said.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

Highbury Corner Magistrates Court - London Teenager charged with attempted murder after London train stabbing
Russia launches barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine’s energy system Russia launches barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine’s energy system
Syria Israel Attack Israeli strikes on Syria kill dozens, security sources say
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited