Last night, Israel's security cabinet voted to accede to the UN's request and extend a humanitarian cease-fire by 24 hours until midnight tonight. This is a unilateral cease-fire; the terrorist organizations have maintained rocket and mortar fire at Israeli territory today. An IDF spokesperson said, "If the fire continues, we'll respond."
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu-Zohari declared that there was no cease-fire, that the extension was a unilateral step by Israel, and that before there could be a truce Israel had first to withdraw its ground forces from the Gaza Strip.
Political sources in Israel stressed that the IDF would continue operations against the terrorist tunnels in the Gaza Strip, and said that four had been dealt with in the past 24 hours. 43 IDF personnel have been killed in the Gaza operation so far.
The cease-fire that the IDF has observed since Saturday morning has enabled Gaza residents to obtain supplies of food and water. At the same time, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 130 bodies have been uncovered in the ruins of buildings destroyed in the fighting. The total number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since Operation Protective Edge began is over a thousand.
On Saturday, representatives of Turkey and Qatar met in Paris to attempt to bring about a broadening of the cease-fire. An EU representative also participated in the talks. "We all call upon the sides to extend the cease-fire currently in place," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters. The Paris meeting was led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, whose proposal for a week-long cease-fire was roundly rejected by Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 27, 2014
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