Hamas talks on ceasefire, Gaza dead top 1,000
Hamas officials were negotiating a ceasefire on Wednesday as Israeli forces kept up the pressure on the Islamists in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian death toll rose above 1,000 after 19 days of air and ground attacks.
Intensive talks took place in Cairo on an Egyptian truce proposal, but sticking points remained. A senior Beirut-based Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera television: "There are still points of difference on the initiative."
Ayman Taha, a Hamas official working with Egyptian mediators in Cairo, was due to give a news conference at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). Speaking to Reuters, he declined to say whether he would announce an agreement, saying only: "Hamas has accepted Egyptian efforts to achieve a ceasefire and lift the blockade."
Earlier, a Palestinian official close to the talks said that Hamas -- which wants Israel to end its assault, withdraw its troops and end a long blockade on the Gaza Strip -- still had one reservation. Hamas officials were meeting Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to discuss it, he said.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which wants an end to Hamas rocket attacks on its towns and assurances that the movement will be unable to rearm itself by smuggling from Egypt.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni issued a statement saying: "Even if an international solution is found to the smuggling issue, Israel would reserve the right to act ... militarily."
European governments have offered Egypt technical help in sealing off its 15 km (9-mile) border with the enclave, which has been riddled with smuggling tunnels over recent years.
Releasing new figures, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said 1,010 Palestinians had been killed and 4,700 wounded by Israeli forces so far.
The Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human rights said more than 670 civilians were among the dead. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have been killed since Israel launched its campaign on Dec. 27.
Backing its demand that any ceasefire ensure that Hamas cannot rearm, Israel sent warplanes to drop more bunker-busting bombs on the smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.
"They used bombs that went deep into the tunnels and shook the whole Rafah refugee camp. The land trembled beneath our feet," said Bassam Abdallah, a local Palestinian cameraman.
In Cairo, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for "an immediate and durable ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, which on Wednesday fired more rockets into southern Israeli cities, causing no casualties.
An Israeli official who asked not to be identified said Egypt was pushing for a ceasefire deal by the weekend. A senior Israeli defence official was expected in Cairo on Thursday.
The Israeli official said "there has been progress" on talks over border controls to prevent Hamas replenishing its arsenal. But he said Israeli leaders were non-committal about the prospect of reaching a ceasefire accord in the next few days.
ROCKETS IN NORTHERN ISRAEL
In northern Israel, three rockets launched from Lebanon hit fields outside the town of Kiryat Shmona, the second such attack in less than a week. There was no claim of responsibility and Israel, which responded with artillery, said it hoped to avoid the opening of a second front. No one was hurt in the exchange.
The Israeli military said its aircraft bombed about 35 border tunnels and also struck Hamas police headquarters in the Israeli-encircled city of Gaza, as well as eight squads of gunmen and weapons storage facilities.
Six Palestinian militants and four civilians were killed in the Israeli attacks, medical workers said.
An Egyptian proposal to end the hostilities calls for a temporary ceasefire, followed by a long-term truce and the opening of Gaza's border crossings in the presence of officials from the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces Hamas drove out of Gaza in 2007.
The third phase of the initiative deals with efforts to reconcile Hamas and Abbas's Fatah group.
Hamas sources, speaking before the latest negotiating session, said the group was demanding a six- to 12-month renewable truce coupled with an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the opening of crossing points.
In an audio tape on Islamist websites, Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden called for jihad (holy struggle) over the Israeli offensive, which has caused widespread anger in the Arab and Muslim world.
Addressing "our brothers in Palestine", he said: "We are with you and we will not let you down. Our fate is tied to yours in fighting the Crusader-Zionist coalition, in fighting until victory or martyrdom."
With Israeli troops edging closer to the heart of the city of Gaza, international organisations have expressed growing concern about the plight of children trapped there.
Human rights groups have reported shortages of vital supplies, including water, in the Hamas-ruled territory. A fuel shortage has brought frequent power blackouts.
Israel has permitted almost daily truck shipments of food and medicine. But Human Rights Watch said Israel's daily three-hour break in attacks to facilitate the supply of humanitarian aid to Gazans was "woefully insufficient".
- Reuters
Intensive talks took place in Cairo on an Egyptian truce proposal, but sticking points remained. A senior Beirut-based Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera television: "There are still points of difference on the initiative."
Ayman Taha, a Hamas official working with Egyptian mediators in Cairo, was due to give a news conference at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). Speaking to Reuters, he declined to say whether he would announce an agreement, saying only: "Hamas has accepted Egyptian efforts to achieve a ceasefire and lift the blockade."
Earlier, a Palestinian official close to the talks said that Hamas -- which wants Israel to end its assault, withdraw its troops and end a long blockade on the Gaza Strip -- still had one reservation. Hamas officials were meeting Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to discuss it, he said.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which wants an end to Hamas rocket attacks on its towns and assurances that the movement will be unable to rearm itself by smuggling from Egypt.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni issued a statement saying: "Even if an international solution is found to the smuggling issue, Israel would reserve the right to act ... militarily."
European governments have offered Egypt technical help in sealing off its 15 km (9-mile) border with the enclave, which has been riddled with smuggling tunnels over recent years.
Releasing new figures, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said 1,010 Palestinians had been killed and 4,700 wounded by Israeli forces so far.
The Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human rights said more than 670 civilians were among the dead. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have been killed since Israel launched its campaign on Dec. 27.
Backing its demand that any ceasefire ensure that Hamas cannot rearm, Israel sent warplanes to drop more bunker-busting bombs on the smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.
"They used bombs that went deep into the tunnels and shook the whole Rafah refugee camp. The land trembled beneath our feet," said Bassam Abdallah, a local Palestinian cameraman.
In Cairo, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for "an immediate and durable ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas, which on Wednesday fired more rockets into southern Israeli cities, causing no casualties.
An Israeli official who asked not to be identified said Egypt was pushing for a ceasefire deal by the weekend. A senior Israeli defence official was expected in Cairo on Thursday.
The Israeli official said "there has been progress" on talks over border controls to prevent Hamas replenishing its arsenal. But he said Israeli leaders were non-committal about the prospect of reaching a ceasefire accord in the next few days.
ROCKETS IN NORTHERN ISRAEL
In northern Israel, three rockets launched from Lebanon hit fields outside the town of Kiryat Shmona, the second such attack in less than a week. There was no claim of responsibility and Israel, which responded with artillery, said it hoped to avoid the opening of a second front. No one was hurt in the exchange.
The Israeli military said its aircraft bombed about 35 border tunnels and also struck Hamas police headquarters in the Israeli-encircled city of Gaza, as well as eight squads of gunmen and weapons storage facilities.
Six Palestinian militants and four civilians were killed in the Israeli attacks, medical workers said.
An Egyptian proposal to end the hostilities calls for a temporary ceasefire, followed by a long-term truce and the opening of Gaza's border crossings in the presence of officials from the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces Hamas drove out of Gaza in 2007.
The third phase of the initiative deals with efforts to reconcile Hamas and Abbas's Fatah group.
Hamas sources, speaking before the latest negotiating session, said the group was demanding a six- to 12-month renewable truce coupled with an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the opening of crossing points.
In an audio tape on Islamist websites, Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden called for jihad (holy struggle) over the Israeli offensive, which has caused widespread anger in the Arab and Muslim world.
Addressing "our brothers in Palestine", he said: "We are with you and we will not let you down. Our fate is tied to yours in fighting the Crusader-Zionist coalition, in fighting until victory or martyrdom."
With Israeli troops edging closer to the heart of the city of Gaza, international organisations have expressed growing concern about the plight of children trapped there.
Human rights groups have reported shortages of vital supplies, including water, in the Hamas-ruled territory. A fuel shortage has brought frequent power blackouts.
Israel has permitted almost daily truck shipments of food and medicine. But Human Rights Watch said Israel's daily three-hour break in attacks to facilitate the supply of humanitarian aid to Gazans was "woefully insufficient".
- Reuters
MOHD ADHA MOHD ZAIN (ADHA ZAIN)
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