Int’l truce efforts for Gaza intensified

CAIRO

Palestinians help a survivor in the rubble of a house after an Israeli strike. REUTERS pho

As Egypt has been working to reinstate a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinine’s Hamas militants, international powers also make effort on the issue.

An Israeli official landed in Cairo yesterday for Egypt-mediated truce talks with Hamas, Egyptian security officials said, Agence France-Presse reported.

 Hamas officials say intensive truce talks are focused on agreeing guarantees for the ceasefire conditions.
 Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said on Nov. 17 there were “some indications” a deal could come soon but added he did not have guarantees.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will arrive in Egypt today for talks with the Egyptian president and other officials, the foreign ministry reported yesterday.

 An Arab League delegation headed by the bloc’s chief will visit the Gaza Strip tomorrow in a show of support, a league official said yesterday.

France’s top diplomat Laurent Fabius arrived Israel to bolster Egyptian efforts to broker a ceasefire, Palestinian officials said it was possible a deal would be reached “today or tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague pressed Israel not to escalate the conflict by sending ground troops into Gaza.

 “The prime minister [David Cameron] and I have both stressed to our Israeli counterparts that a ground invasion of Gaza would lose Israel a lot of the international support and sympathy that they have in this situation,” Hague told Sky News.