Hamas said Wednesday that it had officially rejected an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based resistance factions.
"Hamas officially informed Cairo that it could not accept the Egyptian [ceasefire] initiative," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a brief statement.
He did not give reasons for the decision to turn down the proposal.
On Monday, Egypt proposed a ceasefire between Gaza-based resistance factions and Israel that aims to end days of violence between Gaza and Israel in which one Israeli and 209 Palestinians have been killed.
Since July 7, Israeli warplanes have pounded the Gaza Strip with the ostensible aim of ending Palestinian rocket fire from the besieged coastal enclave.
At least 209 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed so far – and more than 1500 injured, many seriously – in unrelenting aerial attacks by the self-proclaimed Jewish state.
Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rockets at Israel – some of which have reached Tel Aviv – in response to the ongoing airstrikes.
Since Israel's air campaign began last week, one Israeli has been killed as a result of rocket fire from Gaza.
The ongoing military operation, dubbed "Operation Protective Edge," is Israel's third major offensive against the embattled Gaza Strip – home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – in the last six years.
Cairo's initiative called on Israel to cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip, halt all ground operations and refrain from targeting civilians, according to an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement.
It also called on Palestinian resistance factions to cease hostilities against Israel, halt rocket fire and cross-border attacks and stop targeting civilians.
The overture further calls for reopening Gaza's closed border crossings and facilitating the movement of persons and goods in and out of the embattled coastal territory.
Israel initially accepted the ceasefire proposal before quickly making a U-turn and resuming airstrikes on Tuesday, citing the failure of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to respond positively to the initiative.
By Ola Attalah
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
