Популярные сообщения

вторник

Hamas Rocket Strikes Persist After Israel OKs Ceasefire Proposal

Israel has agreed to an Egyptian-brokered deal to stop hostilities, but leaders of Hamas aren't backing the plan, leaving a potential peace in jeopardy. Militants fired more than 20 rockets this morning, after Israel suspended its airstrikes on Gaza, drawing a warning from Israeli leaders.

Despite Israel saying it had accepted the proposal, "a Hamas official said Egypt did not consult with Hamas on the ceasefire, and Hamas did not accept it," Daniel Estrin reports for NPR from Jerusalem. "There was more rocket fire on southern Israel. One rocket hit a house, and in another rocket attack, an Israeli soldier was lightly injured by shrapnel."

Under the deal, all fighting was supposed to wind down at 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), and the two sides were to prepare for talks to be held in Cairo this week. But while Israel stopped its airstrikes, the militants' rocket attacks continued.

After some Hamas officials rejected the deal to end the violence that is now in its eighth day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "If Hamas rejects the Egyptian proposal and the rocket fire from Gaza does not cease, and that appears to be the case, we are prepared to continue and intensify our operation to protect our people."

Within Hamas, the strongest resistance to the peace deal is coming from al-Qassam, its military wing. The group issued a statement today that said the ceasefire resembles a surrender. But the situation seems to be in flux, says NPR's Emily Harris, reporting from Gaza.

Популярные сообщения