Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
- The United Nations says root causes of the crisis must be addressed
- The conflict went on for 50 days, killing around 2,200 people
- Israel says Hamas finally accepted a plan it rejected earlier; Hamas declares victory
- Deal includes easing blockade, extending fishing limit, Egyptian official says
Jerusalem (CNN) -- After more than seven weeks of heavy fighting, Israel and Hamas have agreed to an open-ended ceasefire.
The truce announced Tuesday puts off dealing with core long-term issues on both sides of a bitter conflict that killed around 2,200 people.
But Israel agreed to ease the blockade on Gaza, open border crossings for more aid to pass through and extend the fishing limit off the coast to 6 miles, according to a senior Egyptian government official.
Both sides agreed to return to Cairo for further Egyptian-mediated talks, the official said.
Hamas -- as it has after every battle with Israel -- declared the outcome a victory. But Israel said that Hamas, which holds power inside Gaza, finally accepted an offer that it had repeatedly rejected earlier in the war.
"We hope that this time, the ceasefire will stick," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said.
"And I think now, as the dust will begin to clear, many people will be asking: Why is it that today Hamas accepted the very same Egyptian framework that it rejected a month ago?
"Ultimately, so much bloodshed could have been avoided," he added.
Cheers in Gaza
Palestinians in Gaza celebrate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday, August 26. After more than seven weeks of heavy fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to an open-ended ceasefire that puts off dealing with core long-term issues.
Palestinians inspect the damage to a residential building following several late night Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on August 26.
Gila, center, mother of 4-year-old Israeli boy Daniel Tragerman, sits next to his grave during his funeral near the Israel-Gaza border on Sunday, August 24.
Palestinians run away from debris after a bomb from an Israeli airstrike hit a house in Gaza on Saturday, August 23.
An Israeli soldier smokes a cigarette in a large concrete pipe used as shelter at an army deployment point near the Israeli-Gaza border on Wednesday, August 20.
Light trails made by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip stand out against the night sky on Tuesday, August 19. Despite efforts to come to a peaceful agreement, Gaza militants launched rockets into Israel on Tuesday, and Israel responded with its own rockets.
An injured Palestinian man is helped into the Shifa hospital in Gaza City on August 19.
Police examine the remains of a rocket launched from Gaza that landed near the kibbutz of Yad Mordechay on August 19.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on August 19.
Islam El Masri begins to sort through the rubble of her destroyed home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, on Thursday, August 14.
Israelis gather in Tel Aviv during a protest August 14 calling on the government and the army to end Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza once and for all.
Smoke rises in Gaza City after an airstrike on Saturday, August 9.
Israeli soldiers walk past a Merkava tank as they patrol a field near Israel's border with Gaza on August 9.
A Palestinian boy salvages family belongings from the rubble of a four-story building after an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday, August 8.
Israelis flee after a rocket fired from Gaza hit the residential neighborhood of Sderot, Israel, on August 8.
A Palestinian man looks out over destruction in the al-Tufah neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday, August 6.
Displaced Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave a United Nations school in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, to return to their homes Tuesday, August 5.
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 on July 31.
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 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.
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Photos: Israel-Gaza crisis
Hamas officials: Gaza agreement reached
Hamas: Residential tower hit by Israel
Hamas executes alleged spies
Early in the conflict, Israel openly accepted Egypt's ceasefire proposal and slammed Hamas for not doing so. Analysts saw Egypt's offers as one of many signs that the fighting was a proxy war for the broader Middle East, with key powers such as Cairo supporting Israel's fight against Hamas.
In Gaza, cheers and celebratory gunfire erupted Tuesday.
It's "a day of the victories for our people," spokesman Fawhi Barhoum declared before a cheering, screaming crowd. He praised the "steadfastness and resistance" in Gaza.
"The occupiers have tried to break them ... but the delegation spoke with one voice," Barhoum said of the negotiations.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is not part of Hamas and lives in the West Bank, thanked "Egypt and everyone who supported all the efforts that resulted in this agreement to end the aggression."
"Together, we will rebuild our free country," he added.
Abbas is with the Palestinian faction Fatah, which runs the government in the West Bank and is a longtime rival of Hamas. The two factions have fought in the past but also made attempts at unity governments, including one this year.
'Tackle the root causes'
Tuesday's truce didn't deal with Israel's main demand for the demilitarization of Gaza. It also didn't address Hamas' calls for the rebuilding and reopening of Gaza's airport and the establishment of a seaport, as well as the release of prisoners held by Israel.
Palestinians say Israel and Egypt's blockade of Gaza suffocates the economy of the small, impoverished territory. But Israel says Hamas can't be trusted to not import weapons.
"Any peace effort that does not tackle the root causes of the crisis will do little more than set the stage for the next cycle of violence," a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday of the ceasefire.
"After 50 days of profound human suffering and devastating physical destruction, any violations of the ceasefire would be utterly irresponsible," he said.
More than 2,130 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. It's not clear how many were civilians. The United Nations estimates that more than 70% were civilians, but Israel reports a higher number of militants among the dead.
Sixty-seven Israelis -- 64 of them soldiers -- have been killed, the United Nations reports. A foreign worker in Israel was killed as well.
'Eyes wide open'
The truce appeared similar to a previous agreement reached after a short conflict in November 2012.
"In the end, Israel had two alternatives: either to occupy Gaza and destroy Hamas or to go to a ceasefire," a senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity. "Once we decided not to occupy Gaza, we pushed for the same conditions that led to the end of hostilities in 2012."
He said that he was "not confident" the ceasefire would last, but that if Hamas wants it to hold, it will.
Israel has said its military actions destroyed dozens of tunnels beneath Gaza, some of which extended under the border and were used by Palestinian militants to launch attacks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed news of the ceasefire Tuesday and called on all parties to comply with its terms.
"We are approaching the next phase with our eyes wide open," Kerry said in a statement. "We have been down this road before, and we are all aware of the challenges ahead. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have strong views about their needs and the future of the region."
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CNN's Reza Sayah reported from Cairo, Ben Wedeman reported from Jerusalem and Josh Levs reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.
