JERUSALEM
Israel on Tuesday ordered bomb shelters to be opened near the Gaza Strip following the collapse of a temporary ceasefire with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.
"The IDF [army] has confirmed that three rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel fell near Be'er Sheva, breaking a ceasefire set to expire at midnight and prompting the IDF to respond," the army wrote on its Twitter account.
Israel carried out several airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, claiming the move was a response to rockets allegedly fired from the Palestinian territory despite a temporary ceasefire.
Palestinian resistance faction Hamas, for its part, denied any knowledge of the alleged rocket fire, asserting that the fresh Israel attacks sought to undermine Egypt-hosted negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire.
For the last nine 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 Israel attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, which have left more than 2000 Palestinians dead – the vast majority of them civilians – and more than 10,000 injured.
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 Turgut Alp Boyraz
www.aa.com.tr/en
