Israel: New truce deal sealed

But Hamas denies claim as rocket attack marks end of five-hour lull

Israel said on Thursday it had agreed a truce with Hamas to end 10 days of violence in Gaza, but the Islamist movement denied the reported deal.

News of a fresh attempt to end the worst bloodshed in the Gaza Strip in five years came during a five-hour humanitarian truce, under which both Israel and Hamas militants had agreed to hold their fire.

As relative calm returned to the skies over Gaza for the first time since July 8, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as Cairo pushed regional efforts to broker a new cease-fire.

An earlier Egyptian attempt to end hostilities collapsed on Tuesday, with Hamas claiming it had not been included in the negotiations.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official said the Jewish state and Hamas "have agreed on a cease-fire" that would begin at 6 am local time (11 am Beijing time) on Friday. But Hamas denied the report.

"The news about a cease-fire is incorrect. There are continuing efforts but no agreement for now," spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza.

Despite the diplomacy, there seemed little desire from either side to end their confrontation, which has so far claimed the lives of 231 people in Gaza and one person in Israel.

During the five-hour humanitarian lull, which had been requested by the United Nations, militants in Gaza fired three mortar shells at southern Israel.

Shortly after it ended at 3 pm local time, another Gaza rocket crashed near the southern port city of Ashkelon, the army said.

In a separate incident, an Israeli soldier was slightly injured by an explosion near the fence, with the army firing back across the border, the army said.

The two sides had agreed to temporarily suspend hostilities, with a senior UN official saying the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza would be opened to allow in medical aid.

It also gave Gazans a chance to leave their homes and stock up on supplies, or pick up belongings from homes they had evacuated.

In Gaza City, the streets immediately filled with honking cars and traffic jams. Outside banks, hundreds of people massed by ATMs to withdraw money to buy supplies.

"It's not enough. People need to go out and get supplies and to get their belongings. It should have been from 7 am until dusk," Mohamed Nasr said.

"We've been stuck in our houses during this war because of the violence. It's like living under curfew."

Just moments before the humanitarian truce began at 10 am, Israeli tank fire killed three people in southern Gaza, Palestinian medics said.

And the army said it had foiled a "major terror attack" by a group of 13militants who managed to enter southern Israel by tunnel.

(China Daily 07/18/2014 page12)