Truce based on Palestinian demands: Hamas official

“After the 72-hour period ends and if there is no agreement reached, we will have to make a decision on whether to extend the ceasefire or not,” Ezzat  al-Rishq,  who is on Hamas’ delegation to Egypt for ceasefire negotiations, said on Monday.
 
Earlier on Monday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the movement has informed Cairo that it agrees to the truce, which has been proposed by Egypt.
 
A top Israeli official also confirmed that the temporary ceasefire would take effect at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) Tuesday, adding that an Israeli delegation would head to Egypt for talks to work out a long-term truce in the next three days.
 
Hamas wants a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an end to the Israeli siege of the costal enclave and the release of Hamas inmates held by Israel.
 
This is while, on Friday, another planned 72-hour truce was broken by Israel within hours of taking effect.
 
Gaza has been blockaded by Israel since June 2007. The enclave’s northern Erez crossing has been controlled by the Tel Aviv regime while its southern Rafah crossing by Egypt, which are both closed.
 
Palestinians have been forced to dig tunnels under the crossings to bring in their basic goods like construction materials, food, and fuel.
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is determined to destroy the tunnels, which according to him Palestinian resistance fighters use to infiltrate the occupied Palestinian territories, “with or without a ceasefire.”
 
At least 1,865 Palestinians, including a large number of women and children, have so far been killed and over 9,500 others injured since the Israeli military launched its recent offensive against the Gaza Strip on July 8.
 
The Israeli military says 64 soldiers have been killed in the conflict, but Hamas puts the fatalities at more than 150.