Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
- Hamas spokesman says "no basis for the media news about the extension of truce"
- "Responsibility for this tragedy belongs with Hamas," Israeli Prime Minister says
- Israel wants disarmament of Gaza; Hamas wants an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza
- Meanwhile, Gaza residents survey widespread damage with water and electricity scarce
Gaza City (CNN) -- So far, there's no peace deal in Cairo, but there's no fighting in Gaza, either.
A day into a 72-hour cease-fire, many Palestinians returned to devastation in Gaza as officials from Israel and the Palestinian side -- including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Palestine Liberation Organization -- gathered in Egypt for talks about how to make the truce last.
From Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the performance of his country's troops, again blamed Hamas for civilian casualties and expressed hopes that the Cairo talks could set the stage for a broader peace.
The Palestinian and Israeli delegations -- working through Egyptian intermediaries in Cairo -- had yet to reach agreement on extending the cease-fire that has brought at least a temporary pause in the fighting, Qais Abdelkarim, a Palestinian delegate who is part of the negotiating team, told CNN Wednesday.
Rockets fire over reporter on live TV
In a text message to CNN, a senior Egyptian official described the talks as "still an experimental discussion in order to consolidate the cease-fire."
But Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television that talk of an extension of the truce for another 72 hours was nothing more than that -- talk.
"There is no basis for the media news about the extension of truce," he said.
In Israel and Gaza, a war against peace
Cease-fire offers window to aid groups
The Middle East: A region in turmoil
Egypt playing key role as truce-broker
Israel is calling for Hamas, the militant Islamic group that runs Gaza, to disarm. Hamas, meanwhile, wants an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, a measure Israel says is necessary to stop weapons being smuggled in.
Among the issues being raised, a German diplomatic source told CNN, is a proposal to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt under the auspices of a European Union mission. EU officials operated a similar mission from 2005 to 2007, when Hamas assumed power in Gaza.
Egypt closed the Rafah crossing after the country's military ousted Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Mohammed Morsy. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt's new government has declared a terrorist group.
"I'm very glad that we have, at least temporarily, achieved a cease-fire. The question now is, how do we build on this temporary cessation of violence and move forward in a sustainable way?" U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday.
"I have no sympathy for Hamas. I have great sympathy for ordinary people who are struggling within Gaza."
The latest Gaza conflict is the third in less than six years. Previous cease-fires have brought calm for a matter of months or years but failed to tackle the broader issues.
"The problem is that -- regardless of the blame game that's taking place right now and it usually does happen after every Gaza escalation -- it's the people of Gaza who are suffering from the siege, from a disastrous humanitarian situation, civilian deaths, destruction," said Nasser Judeh, the foreign minister of Jordan, which borders Israel and the West Bank.
"I think we all have to collectively think about how we can rescue them from this," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
Dire humanitarian situation
Around 520,000 Gaza residents were displaced during the conflict, according to the United Nations. That's about 29% of the territory's 1.8 million inhabitants.
Some of them returned to their neighborhoods after the cease-fire began Tuesday, in many cases finding rubble where their homes had once stood.
The United Nations estimates that more than 10,000 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged in Gaza, an already crowded and impoverished territory.
Nearly 1,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the conflict, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. It's unclear how many were militants. The United Nations has estimated that at least 70% of the dead were civilians.
Why are so many civilians dying in Hamas-Israel war?
For many Palestinians, rebuilding their shattered lives is still a distant goal. Their immediate challenge is to secure water, food and shelter.
Running water is scarce, and there are only about two to four hours of electricity a day, the U.N. says.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been sheltering about 270,000 people in its school buildings in Gaza.
Middle East cease-fire in effect
Voices of the Gaza conflict
After a 72-hour cease-fire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, displaced Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave a United Nations school in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, to return to their homes Tuesday, August 5. More than 1,800 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict began July 8, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Palestinians move among destroyed buildings on their way to their homes in Gaza on August 5. Israel launched a ground operation in Gaza on Thursday, July 17, after a 10-day campaign of airstrikes had failed to halt relentless Hamas rocket fire on Israeli cities.
The body of Avrohom Wallis is carried during his funeral in Jerusalem on Monday, August 4. Wallis was killed in what Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld called a "terror attack," when a man drove an earthmover into a bus in Jerusalem.
Israeli soldiers fire a mortar shell toward Gaza from the Israeli side of the border on August 4.
Palestinians remove rubble from a house hit by an airstrike in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on August 4.
An Israeli drone circles over Gaza City on Sunday, August 3.
A Palestinian man sits in a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on August 3.
An honor guard caries the coffin of Israeli Lt. Hadar Goldin during his funeral in Kfar-saba, Israel, on August 3. Goldin was thought to have been captured during fighting in Gaza but was later declared killed in action by the Israel Defense Forces.
A Palestinian boy looks for belongings after an airstrike in Rafah on Saturday, August 2.
Israeli soldiers walk to their tank at a staging area near the border with Gaza on August 2.
A young Palestinian carries damaged copies of the Quran from the rubble of the Imam Al Shafaey mosque in Gaza City on August 2.
Palestinians displaced from their houses return to check their homes in Gaza City on Friday, August 1.
An Israeli soldier carries a shell as he prepares a tank along the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday, July 31. Israel called up 16,000 additional reservists, bolstering forces for its fight against Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
Smoke rises from a building after an airstrike in Rafah on July 31.
The parents and a sister of Israeli soldier Guy Algranati mourn during his funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 31. More than 60 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict, according to the Israel Defense Forces, and three civilians have been killed in Israel.
U.N. workers remove a donkey injured at a U.N.-run school in Gaza on Wednesday, July 30.
Palestinians walk under the collapsed minaret of a destroyed mosque in Gaza City on July 30.
Palestinians gather leaflets that fell from an Israeli plane on July 30. The leaflets warned residents of airstrikes in Gaza City.
Israelis take cover from a Palestinian rocket attack from Gaza during the funeral of Israeli soldier Meidan Maymon Biton, which was held at a cemetery in Netivot, Israel, on Tuesday, July 29.
Smoke and fire rise above Gaza City after an Israeli airstrike on July 29.
An Israeli soldier prays on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza on July 29 as smoke billows from the only power plant supplying electricity to Gaza.
Near the rubble of their home in Rafah, Palestinian men mourn July 29 for people killed during an airstrike.
A Palestinian man places a portrait of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on the rubble of Haniya's Gaza City home July 29 after it was hit by an overnight airstrike.
Flares from Israeli forces light up the night sky of Gaza City on July 29.
Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of 2nd Lt. Roy Peles, an infantry officer who was killed in combat, during his funeral in Tel Aviv on Sunday, July 27.
During a 12-hour cease-fire in Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood on Saturday, July 26, a Palestinian man sits atop a car filled with belongings that were salvaged from a destroyed home.
Israeli soldiers watch a bomb explode along the border with Gaza before the 12-hour cease-fire on July 26.
As her brother-in-law Mazen Keferna weeps on the ground, Manal Keferna cries upon discovering her family home destroyed by airstrikes in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on July 26.
Palestinians dig a body out of the rubble of a destroyed house in Gaza during the cease-fire on July 26.
An Israeli soldier mourns at the grave of reserve Master Sgt. Yair Ashkenazy during his funeral at the military cemetery in Rehovot, Israel, on Friday, July 25. Ashkenazy was killed during operations in northern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces reported.
A Palestinian man cries after bringing a child to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya on Thursday, July 24. The child was wounded in a strike on a school that was serving as a shelter for families in Gaza. It's unclear who was behind the strike. The Israeli military said it was "reviewing" the incident, telling CNN that a rocket fired from Gaza could have been responsible.
Israeli soldiers carry a wounded soldier to a helicopter near the Israel-Gaza border on July 24.
Israeli soldiers patrol the Israel-Gaza border on July 24.
A trail of blood is seen in the courtyard of the school that was hit July 24 in the Beit Hanoun district of Gaza.
An Israeli tank fires toward Gaza from a position near Israel's border on July 24.
A photograph tweeted by astronaut Alexander Gerst on Wednesday, July 23, shows major cities of Israel and Gaza. Gerst said in his tweet: "My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel."
A woman in Philadelphia passes by a departure board that shows US Airways Flight 796, scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv, has been canceled on Tuesday, July 22. The Federal Aviation Administration told U.S. airlines they were temporarily prohibited from flying to the Tel Aviv airport after a Hamas rocket exploded nearby.
Smoke and fire from the explosion of an Israeli strike rise over Gaza City on July 22.
A relative of Israeli soldier Jordan Ben-Simon mourns over his coffin during his funeral in Ashkelon, Israel, on July 22.
Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings and collect usable items after an Israeli air assault on July 22.
Israeli soldiers weep at the grave of Israeli Sgt. Adar Barsano during his funeral Sunday, July 20, in Nahariya, Israel.
Palestinian medics carry a body in Gaza's Shaja'ia district on July 20.
Israeli soldiers give medical care to soldiers who were wounded during an offensive in Gaza on July 20.
A Palestinian boy injured during an Israeli airstrike is taken to the hospital by his father in Gaza City on July 20.
Palestinians flee their homes as Israeli troops focus their firepower on the Gaza town of Shaja'ia on Sunday, July 20. The shelling and bombing killed at least 60 people and wounded 300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Smoke rises after an Israeli missile hit Shaja'ia on July 20.
A Palestinian child walks on debris from a destroyed house following an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya on Saturday, July 19.
An explosion rocks a street in Gaza City on Friday, July 18.
Israeli ground forces move to the Gaza border on July 18.
Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Gaza border on July 18.
A relative mourns July 18 during the funeral of Rani Abu Tawila, a Palestinian who was killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City.
A Palestinian demonstrator, protesting Israel's military operation in Gaza, runs through smoke July 18 during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the entrance of the Ofer prison in the West Bank village of Betunia.
This image, made from video shot through a night-vision scope, was released by the Israeli military on July 18. It shows troops moving through a wall opening during the early hours of the ground offensive in Gaza.
Children stare as Palestinians flee Khan Yunis, Gaza, to safe areas July 18.
An Israeli tank fires a shell into Gaza on July 18.
A Palestinian carries a gas cylinder salvaged from the rubble of an apartment building after it was hit by Israeli fire on July 18.
An Israeli reservist prays July 18 near the Gaza border by Sderot, Israel.
Flare smoke rises into the Gaza City sky on Thursday, July 17.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis
<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Map: Middle East region
Map: Middle East region
"We will be very closely following not only the needs of people who stay at our schools, but also those who are returning to their home and may find themselves in very difficult situations in the days and weeks to come," Pierre Krahenbuhl, UNRWA's commissioner-general, told CNN.
Palestinian-American: 'Living in occupation felt normal'
Israel says mission accomplished
In a news conference Wednesday, Netanyahu praised the performance of Israeli soldiers and showed video he said demonstrated the Israeli military's efforts to spare civilians.
"I salute you, the entire nation salutes you," he said in Hebrew.
He also said the country "deeply regrets" civilian deaths but blamed Hamas for putting civilians in harm's way and using their deaths as "PR fodder."
"The responsibility for this tragedy belongs with Hamas," he said.
Netanyahu spoke a day after the Israeli military finished pulling its troops out of Gaza, saying it had achieved its mission of taking out the threat posed by Hamas' network of tunnels, some of which ran underneath the border and were used by militants to mount attacks.
The Israel Defense Forces says it estimates about 900 militants were killed in the Gaza operation. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said it was a preliminary figure based on field reports from troops returning from battle.
Israeli officials have said 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel died in the conflict.
Opinion polls in Israel, where the public was particularly alarmed by the tunnel threat, suggested strong support for the offensive against Hamas.
Militants fired about one third of their estimated arsenal of 10,000 rockets, the IDF said, with 2,303 of them striking Israel. The Israeli military says its troops destroyed another third of the rocket supply, leaving roughly 3,300 more in Gaza.
Now, the key to any talks, according to Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev, is that Hamas must disarm.
But Nachman Shai, an opposition member of the Israeli parliament, said the situation wasn't quite so simple.
"I'm not sure that we accomplished the mission," he told CNN. "I think we have to do much more. If you ask me, the next phase in this mission is to build new relations between us and the Palestinians."
Netanyahu intimated that the decision by some Arab states to forgo support for Hamas in its fight with Israel could presage a shift in the long debate over peace in the Middle East. He said he agreed with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the apparent realignment could present opportunities to use the Cairo talks to broaden the discussion.
"I think he's right that there are opportunities now, perhaps opportunities that we've not seen before with the realignment of important parties in the Middle East, to be able to fashion a new reality, one more conducive to the end of violence, the establishment of calm, sustainable peace, or at least a sustainable quiet that can lead to other things," the Israeli Prime Minister said.
Fearing daughter's Gaza border wedding
Palestinian objections
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat stressed to CNN on Wednesday the conflict would never be solved through violence.
"It's going to be through a meaningful peace process that would lead to end this Israeli occupation that began 46 years ago and is still ongoing," he said.
Mohammed Shtayyeh, a senior negotiator for the PLO, described Israel's call for the demilitarization of Gaza as "blackmail."
Gaza: All quiet for 72-hour cease-fire
Israel, Palestinians agree to cease-fire
Israeli fear near the Gaza border
"I don't think there should be any trade between reconstruction of Gaza, humanitarian aid, relief aid and demilitarization of Gaza," Shtayyeh, a confidant of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told CNN's Jake Tapper. "The demilitarization of Gaza should be part of a final status negotiations."
Hamas leaders say that they want to negotiate an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, or at least have a body other than the Israelis controlling the borders.
They also want an extension of fishing rights off Gaza's coast and the release of prisoners detained by Israel.
Ismail Haniyeh, a senior leader of Hamas, said in a televised statement Tuesday that Hamas members will work with the Palestinian delegation to end the blockade.
Demands on Egypt
Hamas is also looking for concessions from Egypt, which brokered the cease-fire.
"They're looking to Egypt to open up the Rafah border, so Egypt is in fact a party to this cease-fire negotiation," said David Schenker, director of the Washington Institute's program on Arab Politics. "If you want this to endure, then Egypt is going to have to pony up something."
But the Egyptian government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the country's former military chief, is very wary of Hamas.
El-Sisi has cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot.
After ousting former President Mohamed Morsy, who was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and had closer ties with Hamas, el-Sisi sealed off the Rafah crossing and destroyed smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
The United States will be on the ground in Cairo for talks but will not be a party to them.
"We don't negotiate with Hamas. We don't talk to Hamas. But we certainly want to be there to support an effort to negotiate over these key issues that have been so troubling in the region for so many years," State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki told CNN's Tapper.
CNN exclusive: Inside the mind of Hamas' political leader
Nobel laureate Wiesel: Hamas must stop using children as human shields
Gaza conflict: Can economic isolation ever be reversed?
Life in Gaza: Misery heightened by war
CNN's Karl Penhaul reported from Gaza, Reza Sayah reported from Cairo and Jethro Mullen reported from Hong Kong. CNN's Elise Labott, Steve Almasy, Matthew Chance, Martin Savidge and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.
