GAZA CITY
An extended ceasefire between the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel expired at Tuesday midnight with violence already flaring up again even before its end.
Israel launched several airstrikes across the Palestinian territory, leaving a child dead and 25 people injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israeli army said the attacks came in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip despite the temporary ceasefire, which was set to expire at Tuesday midnight.
Hamas, for its part, has described the Israeli attacks as an attempt to undermine Egypt-hosted negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire.
The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian resistance faction Hamas, claimed to have fired 40 rockets at Israeli cities on Tuesday in response to the Israeli attacks.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israeli negotiators to Egypt-hosted talks to return to Tel Aviv, shortly after the army claimed that three rockets had been fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.
For the last ten days, Palestinian factions and Israel have been holding indirect negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a permanent truce.
A five-day ceasefire expired on Monday. But the two sides agreed to extend it by 24 hours as part of Egyptian efforts aimed at reaching a permanent deal.
The ceasefire came following more than a month of devastating Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, which have left more than 2015 Palestinians dead – the vast majority of them civilians – and more than 10,000 injured.
Palestinian casualties from the current offensive alone have surpassed the combined Palestinian death toll from two previous operations, including Israel's highly-destructive "Operation Cast Lead" in 2008/9.
According to Israeli figures, at least 64 Israeli soldiers have been killed in recent ground battles with Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip – the highest military death toll for Israel of any of its three onslaughts on the territory.
Three Israeli civilians, meanwhile, have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza.
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip – home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – has reeled under a crippling Israeli blockade that has badly affected the local economy and played havoc with residents' livelihoods.
By Mustafa Haboosh
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
