Team To Go To Cairo To Discuss Ceasefire: Hamas

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said early on Friday that a delegation would travel to Cairo, Egypt, within the next 72 hours to conduct negotiations with the Israelis on a  humanitarian ceasefire that was declared earlier.



Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the Palestinian delegation in the negotiations would be made of representatives from Hamas, the other major Gaza-based resistance movement, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah, the movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.



Hamas declared earlier that it accepted a United Nations-brokered 72-hour humanitarian truce in Gaza, almost three weeks after the Gaza Strip was subject to incessant Israeli aerial, naval and ground bombardments.



The ceasefire is due to start at 8: 00am Gaza local time (0500 GMT).



Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip left a staggering 1440 Palestinians dead and 8300 others injured. Most of the victims were children and women.



Around 53 Israeli troops were also killed in Gaza operations, while three Israeli civilians were killed by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.



The 72-humanitarian truce, however, is not durable, but the two parties are expected to discuss a lasting settlement in Cairo and means of avoiding any flare-up of violence in the future.



Egypt proposed a ceasefire initiative on July 14, but the initiative was approved by Israel and snubbed by Hamas, which says the residents of the Gaza Strip cannot tolerate an Israeli blockade of their territory, one that has been in place since 2006, any more.



By Mustafa Haboosh



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gazze