Word: gaza
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Pressure is mounting on Israel and Hamas to find a way to end the war in Gaza. Both sides have responded positively, if tentatively, to Egyptian proposals for a phased truce that would begin with a lull in fighting for a defined period (10 days, by some accounts). That interlude would then allow for the brokering of a more comprehensive cease-fire. But each side's goals from any truce remain antagonistic to the other's, and reaching an agreement that bridges the vast gap between them remains a herculean diplomatic challenge...
...Even before the Israeli invasion began in late December, Hamas had offered to renew its six-month cease-fire with Israel on the condition that the border crossings from Egypt and Israel into Gaza be reopened. Those crossings have been closed as part of a strategy of imposing economic deprivation on the people of Gaza in the hopes that they would turn on Hamas; Israel remains reluctant to agree to reopen them as part of a cease-fire deal, since that would be claimed as a victory by Hamas. Hamas also insists on a full and immediate withdrawal...
...Israel's declared purpose in launching Operation Cast Lead was to halt Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza and prevent Hamas from being able to rearm by smuggling weapons from Egypt. Israel remains committed, however, to a long-term goal of ending Hamas' control of Gaza, and it insists that the movement should gain no "recognition" or "legitimacy" as part of any truce - a tough call since Hamas is the key combatant on the Palestinian side. (See pictures of the Gaza ground...
...Three people were injured when a shell slammed into the U.N. warehouse that stores fuel for Gaza's overburdened hospitals and food for thousands of poor Palestinian families. Eyewitnesses said the burning sacks of food blazed into the evening, covering Gaza's sky with a pall of greasy black smoke. Many of the 700 Gazans who had retreated inside the U.N. compound to take refuge from the fighting then fled into the streets with nowhere left to go as artillery shells thudded into buildings around them, showering the area with chunks of concrete and glass, eyewitness said...
...Israeli envoy Amos Gilad returned from Cairo on Thursday night to brief Olmert and his Defense and Foreign Ministers about Hamas' response to the Egyptian truce proposals. Israeli officials claim that Hamas may be willing to drop two previous demands: that Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza before Hamas stops firing its rockets into Israel and that Hamas control the Gaza border crossings with Israel and Egypt. These sources say Hamas has agreed that the Gaza crossings be manned by a force loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival supported by Israel and the U.S. So far, Olmert...