Israel says ready for 'serious' Gaza ceasefire proposal

JERUSALEM 

Israeli Science Minister Yaakov Peri said Thursday that his government would accept any "serious" proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to the Israeli Radio, Peri, a former chief of Israel's internal security agency (Shin Bet), said the security cabinet is likely to vote in favor of any "serious" proposal for ceasefire with Gaza-based Palestinian groups.

He went on to say that time is ripe for a political solution to the Gaza situation to build up on the "several achievements" made by the Israeli army in its ongoing military offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has been pounding the besieged Gaza Strip since July 7 with the ostensible aim of halting rocket fire from the region.

At least 1363 Palestinians have been killed and over 7000 others injured in the unrelenting Israeli aerial, naval and ground attacks.

The majority of the dead and injured are civilians, with a considerable proportion of them being children, women and elderly.

Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rocket at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing military offensive.

According to official Israeli figures, 53 Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed since the hostilities began.

Israel's military operation, dubbed operation "Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.

Egypt, which shares borders with both Israel and Gaza, had earlier tabled an initiative that calls on both Israel and Palestinian factions to halt all hostilities.

The initiative, which also calls for reopening Gaza crossings, was initially accepted by Tel Aviv, but rejected by Palestinians for "not meeting the demands of the people of Gaza."

By Alaa Rimawi

englishnews@aa.com.tr

www.aa.com.tr/en