Fresh 72-hour truce begins in Gaza

GAZA CITY: A fresh 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza on Monday, paving the way for talks in Egypt aimed at a durable end to a month-long conflict that has wreaked devastating bloodshed.

The agreement, which began at 00:01 am (2101 GMT on Sunday), clinched days of frantic mediation to stem a firestorm of violence that has killed 1,939 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side since July 8.

Egypt urged Israel and the Palestinians to use the new truce to "reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire," after an earlier three-day truce collapsed on Friday.

"Israel has accepted the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire," an Israeli official told AFP shortly after a Palestinian source confirmed accepting the initiative.

The ceasefire must lead to the lifting by Israel of its blockade of the Gaza Strip, Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal told AFP in an exclusive interview in Doha on Sunday.

"We insist on this goal," he said. "In the case of Israeli procrastination or continued aggression, Hamas is ready with other Palestinian factions to resist on the ground and politically," he added.

Hamas refused to extend that 72-hour lull when it expired last Friday and Israel accused the faction of breaching the agreement in its final hours with rocket attacks.

Veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat arrived in Cairo Sunday night for talks with Egyptian and Arab League officials on behalf of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, an airport official said.

Israel said its team would only return to Cairo once the truce went into force.

"If there is a full ceasefire on the ground the Israeli delegation will arrive in Egypt tomorrow," an Israeli government official said Sunday night. (AFP)