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Israel-Gaza conflict: Hopes grow for end to violence as Palestinians and Israelis begin longest ceasefire yet Israel-Gaza conflict: Hopes grow for end to violence as Palestinians and Israelis begin longest ceasefire yet
(about 11 hours later)
Israel and Hamas have largely observed the start of the longest truce agreed in the Gaza conflict so far, turning attention to Cairo where peace talks continue. A new five day truce between Israel and Hamas is holding firm despite an earlier series of late night rocket launches by militants followed by retaliatory Israel air strikes.
Both sides have agreed to allow more time for negotiations mediated by Egyptian diplomats, and committed to a five-day extension of the 72-hour ceasefire which expired at midnight last night. The new ceasefire, agreed in Cairo on Wednesday close to the midnight deadline for the previous 72-hour one to run out, prompted a return to northern and eastern areas by several hundred Palestinians who had left their homes the previous night fearing a resumption of the conflict.
Thursday morning was not without its share of violence, as the Israeli army said eight rockets were fired towards its territories and that it responded with air strikes on multiple "rockets and terror sites" across Gaza. The new pause is supposed to allow for more time for Egyptian mediators to secure agreement on a more durable truce to end a war which has seen a reported 1,945 Palestinian casualties - including an unusual number of families killed in strikes on their homes - and 67 Israeli deaths, the majority of which were soldiers. Around 16,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged.
But the language was more conciliatory, with the Israeli military spokesperson Peter Lerner writing on Twitter that there was "no need to jump to conclusions" and refusing to blame Hamas directly for the rockets. As Israel's cabinet prepared to meet today to discuss the negotiations - and a reported slowdown in US arms shipments because of administration concerns over the military's four week campaign in Gaza - a senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya told reporters in Gaza City that “there is still a real chance to clinch an agreement.”
Izzat Reshiq, a Hamas official, denied that the truce had been broken by Palestinians and was critical of the Israeli strikes, branding them a "violation of the calm". Mr al-Hayya said at Shifa Hospital - which Hamas has been persistently using in the past month for its public appearances, apparently on security grounds - that the “enemy” - Israel - were “very difficult” to negotiate with because they were causing delays and “trying to gain time.” But although the current Egyptian government had hitherto been noted for its hostility to Hamas, he was at pains to praise “our brothers”, the Egyptian mediators, and said they “are entering a good effort and we wish them success in this negotiation battle.”
No casualties were reported in any of the incidents, however, and the fighting had abated completely by dawn. Reuters quoted an unnamed Palestinian official as saying that while resisting Hamas demands for a new sea port and a rebuilt airport, Israel had conditionally agreed in principle to narrow Gaza's border “buffer zone” to allow farmers to reach more of their land and gradually to extend the current three mile fishing limit. But it was also seeking guarantees that any easing of the blockade would not be used by Hamas for military imports.
While Hamas and Israel both said they accepted the ceasefire extension last night, there remains a long way to go before their differences can be breached in Cairo. Some Palestinians were cautious in their hopes that the ceasefire would lead to a more lasting peace agreement. At a UN school in Jabalya, Amjad al Wahdan, 26, his wife and three children have been sheltering for three weeks. He said his Beit Hanoun house had been somewhat damaged but “after the war I can fix it. But I don't want to go back to do it now and then have it knocked down in two days. I will do it when there is a permanent truce. Five days doesn't guarantee anything.”  
A Palestinian official said that the current talks involve a proposal whereby the blockade of Gaza would be eased to allow the passage of some people and goods, albeit subject to conditions.
Israel has tentatively agreed to this in principle, the official said, but baulked at further demands for the construction of a new Gaza seaport and the reconstruction of an airport destroyed in previous conflicts.
The Egyptian proposal also includes expanding the fishing limits imposed on Gaza, and reducing the size of the no man's land established on the Palestinian side of the border so that farmers can reclaim part of the land.
Israel and Hamas have not met face-to-face during the talks in Cairo - the former regards the militant group, which advocates its destruction, as terrorists.
The Israeli offensive that began on 8 July with the expressed aim of stopping militant rocket fire and destroying cross-border tunnels has now seen 1,945 Palestinians killed, many of them civilians. On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers and three civilians have died.