JERUSALEM: An Israeli government spokesman confirms that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has been reached to end conflict in Gaza

Record ID: 398688

  • Title: JERUSALEM: An Israeli government spokesman confirms that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has been reached to end conflict in Gaza
  • Date: 26th August 2014
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (AUGUST 26, 2014) (REUTERS) ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN, MARK REGEV, WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN, MARK REGEV, SAYING: "Israel has accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, we hope that this time the ceasefire will stick, and I think now that as the dust will begin to clear, many people will be asking, why is it that today Hamas ac
  • Embargoed: 10th September 2014 13:00
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  • Location: Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Reuters ID: LVA6739R1IXQ1DPOKSPMURW6TXDE
  • Story Text: Israel confirmed on Tuesday (August 26) that a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinians aimed at ending their seven-week conflict in Gaza has been reached.
    Palestinian and Egyptian officials said the deal calls for an indefinite halt to hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza's blockaded crossings with Israel and Egypt and a widening of the territory's fishing zone in the Mediterranean.
    Israel, however gave a low-key response to the truce.

    "Israel has accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, we hope that this time the ceasefire will stick, and I think now that as the dust will begin to clear, many people will be asking, why is it that today Hamas accepted the very same Egyptian framework that it rejected a month ago - ultimately so much bloodshed could have been avoided," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said.
    Both Israel and Egypt view Hamas as a security threat and are seeking guarantees that weapons will not enter the territory of 1.8 million people.
    Under a second stage of the truce that would begin a month later, Israel and the Palestinians would discuss the construction of a Gaza sea port and Israel's release of Hamas prisoners in the occupied West Bank, the officials said.
    The conflict has taken a heavy toll in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health officials say 2,139 people, most of them civilians, including more than 490 children, have been killed in the enclave since July 8, when Israel launched an offensive with the declared aim of ending the rocket salvoes.
    Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and five civilians in Israel have been killed.
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