No Plan To Amend Gaza Ceasefire İnitiative: Egypt Fm

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri on Monday said that his country had no plans to introduce amendments to an initiative it proposed a week ago to bring about ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.



"The Egyptian initiative is a comprehensive one," Shoukri said. "When we drafted it we had an eye on the need to make it acceptable to all parties," he added during a press conference with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the Egyptian capital Cairo.



Media reports had it earlier that Egypt is ready to introduce amendments to the initiative, which was approved by Israel, but was turned down by the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.



Shoukri said his country deal with the Rafah Crossing on the border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip within the context of relations between Egypt and Palestine.



He said the Egyptian government had allowed 500 tons of humanitarian aid and 50 tons of medical aid into the Gaza Strip over the past few days.



"The crossing is opened regularly, but everybody must be aware of the security conditions in the Sinai Peninsula," Shoukri said.



He said more than 2000 Palestinians crossed the border point over the past days.



Since July 7, at least 573 Palestinians have been killed – mostly civilians – and more than 3400 injured in unrelenting Israeli attacks on the besieged coastal enclave.



Sunday was the deadliest day yet of Israel's two-week-long onslaught, with at least 110 Palestinians – including 72 in Shujaya, a residential area of eastern Gaza City – killed by Israeli air and artillery attacks.



Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.



By Hagar al-Dosoki



englishnews@aa.com.tr



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