Israel, Palestinians Agree To Resume Talks As New 72-Hour Truce Takes Effect

Aug 11, 2014 01:10 AM EDT

(Photo : Reuters / Mohammed Salem) Palestinians look for the graves of their relatives at a cemetery which witnesses said was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City August 10, 2014.

Israel and Hamas both agreed to hold their fire as they entered a new 72-hour truce brokered by Egypt at 2100 GMT on Monday.

On Sunday, an Israeli government official confirmed that Israel accepted Egypt's proposed ceasefire and said their negotiators would go back to Cairo to continue the indirect discussions with the Palestinians, Reuters detailed.

Like Us on Facebook

Although Hamas said it fired rockets at Tel Aviv just before the new truce took effect, there were reports about violation of the ceasefire immediately after that.
Israeli troops returned home on Friday when both sides failed to agree on an extension to the previous truce. Hostilities between Israel and Hamas resumed after the ceasefire ended.
According to a Hamas Official, Palestinian factions accepted Egypt's proposal and also agreed to resume talks in Cairo. The new discussions would be "the last chance" to reach an agreement, said Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry encouraged the involved parties to take advantage of the recent truce to work on reaching a long-term ceasefire deal.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised the new truce and urged Israel and Hamas to avoid doing anything that would trigger violence once again. He expressed his hope that the truce would make way for a "durable ceasefire" for the good of the civilians in the area.
Hamas demanded that Israel and Egypt end the blockades in their coastal territory and open a certain seaport in Gaza. However, Israel said the decision would depend on the result of future talks.
The month-long war between Israel and Hamas left 1,910 Palestinians and 67 Israelis dead. The violence in the last three days was less intense.
In talks held earlier this month in Cairo, Egypt met separately with the involved parties as both Israel and Hamas continue to reject each other. One important point in the talks was Israel's demand that Hamas provide a guarantee that they would not rebuild the tunnels that Palestinian fighters used to infiltrate their territory.
Meanwhile, Israel also refused to cave in to Hamas' demands to ease the blockade, fearing the militant group could use the access to transport weapons from outside.