CAIRO — An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire halting the Gaza war held
into Monday morning, allowing Palestinians to leave homes and shelters
as negotiators agreed to resume talks in Cairo.
The truce took effect just after
midnight (2101 GMT), preceded by heavy rocket fire toward Israel. In
Cairo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the cease-fire would allow
humanitarian aid into battered Gaza neighborhoods and the reopening of
indirect talks on a more lasting and comprehensive deal.
On
Monday morning, high school students in Gaza filed the streets as they
headed off to pick up their graduation certificates after the Education
Ministry said they'd be ready. People waited to buy fuel for generators
as power and communication workers struggled to fix cables damaged in
the fighting. Long lines formed at ATMs.
In
Cairo, negotiators said talks would resume at 11 a.m. (0800 GMT). The
four-member Israeli delegation arrived at Cairo International Airport
earlier Monday morning.
The
monthlong war, pitting the Israeli military against rocket-firing Hamas
militants, has killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, the majority
civilians, Palestinian and U.N. officials say. In Israel, 67 people have
been killed, all but three of them soldiers, officials there say.
The
fighting ended in a three-day cease-fire last Tuesday. Egypt had hoped
to use that truce to mediate a long-term deal. But when it expired,
militants resumed their rocket fire, sparking Israeli reprisals. The
violence continued throughout the weekend, including a burst of fighting
late Sunday ahead of the expected cease-fire.Last week's talks failed in part because Israel rejected Hamas' demand for a complete end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, enforced by Egypt and Israel. Israel says the closure is necessary to prevent arms smuggling, and officials do not want to make any concessions that would allow Hamas to declare victory.
The blockade has
greatly limited the movement of Palestinians in and out of the
impoverished territory of 1.8 million people for jobs and schooling. It
has also limited the flow of goods into Gaza and blocked virtually all
exports. Unemployment there is more than 50 percent.
Bassam Salhi, a Palestinian delegation member, said he was optimistic ahead of Monday's talks.
"We hope to reach a deal within the 72 hours, based on ending the blockade and opening the crossings," Salhi said.
Israeli
officials had walked away from negotiations over continued fire from
Gaza. "Israel will not negotiate under fire," Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said earlier Sunday, warning that his country's military
campaign "will take time."
The current Gaza war escalated from the
abduction and killing of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June.
Israel blamed the killings on Hamas and launched a massive arrest
campaign, rounding up hundreds of its members in the West Bank. Hamas
and other militants unleashed rocket fire from Gaza.
Meanwhile,
the Israeli military said it killed a suspected Palestinian militant
early Monday morning in the West Bank village of Qabalan, south of
Nablus. Palestinian medical officials identified the dead man as
Zakariah al-Aqrah, 21.
The
military said he was killed after he opened fire on an Israeli force
that had come to arrest him in connection with shootings targeting
Israeli soldiers two weeks ago.
