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Lull in hostilities in Gaza

July 28, 2014

No ceasefire has been agreed but fighting is reported to have died down in the Gaza Strip. The lull in the violence came at the start of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

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Gaza Israel Panzer israelische Soldaten
Image: Reuters

Some limited Israeli attacks on targets in Gaza were reported on Monday, while a few rockets were also launched at the Jewish state, but both were at a much lower level than in recent days.

A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces said the IDF had carried out three airstrikes on Gaza, targeting two rocket launchers and a workshop used by the Islamist militant group Hamas. The IDF said this had come in response to a rocket fired at Israel by Palestinian militants on Monday morning.

This followed what is reported to have been the quietest night in Gaza since the IDF launched its offensive on the Palestinian territory on July 8.

In New York meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council held rare late-night meeting, after which it demanded that Israel and Hamas implement "a durable and fully respected ceasefire."

"The Security Council expresses strong support for the call by international partners and the secretary-general of the United Nations for an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire, allowing for the delivery of urgently needed assistance," the Security Council's non-binding presidential statement said.

The statement was passed unanimously, with all 15 Security Council members voting in favor of the statement.

Obama, Netanyahu speak

This came just hours after US President Barack Obama spoke via telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling on him to work for a sustainable ceasefire.

In a statement, the White House said Obama had "made clear the strategic imperative of instituting an immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire that ends hostilities now and leads to a permanent cessation of hostilities based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement."

Unilateral ceasefires

Both sides had observed a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Saturday, which Israel unilaterally extended by four hours and then - at the request of the United Nations - by a further day.

However, Israel abandoned its ceasefire after Hamas continued to fire rockets at the Jewish state, and once again began pounding targets in Gaza from land, sea and air.

The Israeli premier heaped scorn on a truce that was announced by Hamas later on Sunday, just ahead of Eid al-Fitr, which began this Monday, claiming that - with more rockets hitting Israel after it went into effect - the group had violated its own ceasefire.

The Eid al-Fitr holiday marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Israel's offensive on Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians. On the Israeli side, 43 soldiers and two civilians have been killed.

pfd/jr (AP, AFP, Reuters, AP)