The US failed to secure agreement on a ceasefire to end 18 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on Friday night but insisted that efforts were continuing to arrange a humanitarian truce in time for a Muslim holiday early next week.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said he was confident of a breakthrough despite a reported decision by Israel’s cabinet to reject the proposed terms. Israeli officials later announced a 12-hour “pause” from 8am on Saturday. Hamas was said to have agreed, according to al-Quds TV.
But in one of a flurry of contradictory moves, Israel’s defence minister also warned that the army was preparing to expand ground operations in the coastal enclave, where the offensive has already claimed almost 900 Palestinian lives, three-quarters of them civilians.
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Military, Palestine, Peace, US Policy, US Politics, War