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Israel and Hamas agree to 72-hour truce, paving way for Cairo talks
It was announced overnight that Israel and Hamas have both agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza which came into effect this morning.
The agreement was announced in a joint statement by the United States and the United Nations (UN). The statement said “During this time [the 3-day truce] the forces on the ground will remain in place,” implying that Israel’s military will be permitted to continue destroying the complex network of tunnels constructed by Hamas to launch attacks against Israel. US Secretary of State John Kerry later confirmed this, telling reporters, “Israel will be able to continue its defensive operations for those tunnels that are behind its lines.” Yesterday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that all of the tunnels would be demolished “with or without a ceasefire.”
Kerry also emphasised that the 72-hour pause in fighting would be an opportunity for Gazans “to receive food, medicine and additional humanitarian assistance as well as to be able to tend to their wounded.” The statement said that UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry had received assurances that both sides would abide by the ceasefire.
Importantly, the statement added that, “Israeli and Palestinian delegations will immediately be going to Cairo for negotiations with the Government of Egypt, at the invitation of Egypt, aimed at reaching a durable ceasefire.” Egypt is considered perhaps the most significant potential broker in forging a long-lasting truce between Israel and Hamas and earlier this week, Israeli officials reportedly visited Cairo for talks on advancing towards such an agreement.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond commented, saying, “I welcome the news of an agreement of a ceasefire to halt the violence we have seen. This is an achievement we have all been working tirelessly for.” He added that Kerry and Egypt “should be congratulated for all they have done,” but that, “We should now redouble our efforts … to ensure this is a lasting and durable ceasefire … to resolve the underlying issues on both sides.”