Israel, Hamas agree to 5 more days of cease-fire

Israeli and Hamas will extend a temporary cease-fire for five days, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement released early Thursday.

Ongoing negotiations in Cairo to reach a long-term resolution appear fruitful, the statement added.

This is the third time a truce has been declared since Israel launched an intensive military assault on the Gaza Strip on July 8. The offensive has claimed at least 1,959 Palestinian lives so far, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and has injured at least 10,196 more.

The 5-day extension was brokered in a bid to buy more time to reach a final resolution to the latest conflict, while preventing further bloodshed and achieving legitimate demands on the behalf of Palestinians, Egypt’s statement asserted.

Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo and a leader in the Fatah movement, said in a press conference that the truce would go into effect at midnight on Thursday and continue until Monday. He asserted that the negotiations are advancing.

Both sides have agreed to move a donors’ conference for the reconstruction of Gaza to Egypt, Ahmed said. Opening the Rafah border crossing between Sinai and Gaza is the subject of discussions between Palestine and Egypt, and is not part of the current negotiations, he added.

However, Hamas political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya struck a different tone in the press conference, asserting that this round of negotiations is extremely difficult.

According to Hayya, the Palestinian delegation came to Cairo with four major objectives, the first of which is to end the Israeli assault on the Palestinian people.

Second, the siege on Gaza that has been imposed since 2007 must come to an end, Hayya continued. In addition, Palestinians must be granted the right to return to their lands, and the right to their assets and resources — particularly water, Hayya said. Hamas is pushing for the right to construct a seaport and airport in Gaza.

According to Hayya, the fourth demand is to ensure Israel’s commitment to rebuilding Gaza’s shattered infrastructure.

However, Israel maintains that it will only consider these demands if Hamas is disarmed, which Hamas has said contradicts its core mission as an armed resistance group.