- Title: ISRAEL: Israeli troops deployed near Gaza border as ceasefire set to expire
- Date: 18th August 2014
- Summary: ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER, ISRAEL (AUGUST 18, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS STANDING NEAR MILITARY VEHICLES SOLDIER WALKING / SOLDIER ENTERING JEEP ISRAEL FLAG AGAINST SUNRISE TANK DRIVING ARMOURED VEHICLES TANKS DEPLOYED TANK DRIVING TANKS / BULLDOZERS DEPLOYED
- Embargoed: 2nd September 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA8I1Z8EY9VSULB6C79F3BMF1G
- Story Text: Israeli troops demolish the homes of two Palestinians suspected of abducting and killing of three teenagers in June.
Israeli soldiers and tanks were deployed near Gaza border on Monday (August 18) as a five-day ceasefire was set to expire at midnight and while negotiators returned after consultations to Cairo to seek an end to five weeks of hostilities that have killed more than 2,000 people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday (August 17) any deal on Gaza's future had to meet Israel's security needs, warning Hamas it faced "harsh strikes" if it resumed firing into the Jewish state.
Both sides say gaps remain in reaching a long-term deal that would keep the peace between Israel and militant groups in the Hamas Islamist-dominated Gaza Strip, and open the way for reconstruction aid to reach the battered enclave.
Late on Sunday, a Palestinian official said Israel's position in the talks, as presented to them by Egyptian mediators, were a "retreat from what had already been achieved and discussions had returned to square one."
The official, who was not named, told Egypt's official news agency MENA that Israel had toughened its stance and had placed "impossible" demands, particularly on security issues. He said the Palestinians would review the situation and would offer their response early on Monday.
"We are determined to achieve the demands of our people and foremost is ending the aggression and launching the rebuilding process and lifting the Israeli-imposed blockade of the Gaza Strip," MENA quoted the official as saying.
The United Nations said 425,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced by the war. The Palestinian Health Ministry in the enclave says 1,980 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the conflict.
On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers and three civilians have been killed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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