Temporary ceasefire in Gaza
A 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip officially went into effect at 8am Saturday morning, opening a short window of time for diplomats and negotiators to push for a permanent deal and avoid a continuation of the current conflict.
“The Palestinians who evacuated their homes won’t be able to return during the ceasefire. The IDF will continue to search for and destroy smuggling tunnels,” said Major General Yoav Mordechai, Coordinator of Government Activities in the West Bank.
On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire that would start at 7am Israel local time Saturday morning. A Hamas-affiliated TV station said it too agreed to the truce, but spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the ceasefire would start at 8am.
US Secretary Kerry is also currently pushing for a week long pause in the fighting, during which representatives from both sides of the conflict, and other foreign nations, would sit down to hammer out a permanent truce.
Many Israeli government officials have expressed opposition to a ceasefire unless it includes the demilitarization of Gaza and the destruction of the smuggling tunnels dug over the years by Hamas and used to store weapons as well as to launch terror attacks in Israel.
Hamas, on the other hand, has said that they wouldn’t accept a deal that did not include the lifting of the siege on Gaza, the opening of the land crossings into the territory, and an expansion of fishing rights.
YNETNEWS.COM
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