Israel and Hamas agree to another 3-day ceasefire

(Baonghean.vn)-Will this agreement be maintained? That was the question raised on the evening of Monday, August 4, after the Israeli and Palestinian delegations, including Hamas representatives, agreed to the 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire proposal proposed by Egypt. However, both sides doubted the other's ability to comply with the agreement, knowing that the ceasefire would take effect from the morning of Tuesday, August 5 (ie noon of the same day, Vietnam time).

"The problem is Hamas," Israeli state spokesman Mark Regev told CNN. "We will implement the agreement with our eyes open... We have been fooled more than once." Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan made a similar statement, saying that if Israel honors the agreement, so will Palestine.

A Palestinian stands amid the ruins of Khuzaan east of Khan Younes, Saturday, August 3. Photo-REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly

Ceasefire talks took a new turn on Monday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to end the military campaign to destroy Hamas' tunnel network. The campaign appeared to be drawing to a close, with Regev saying Israel would "cease all military operations, all offensive operations against terrorist targets in Gaza." When asked about the tunnels, Regev said the issue would be resolved on its own, "It's almost finished anyway." Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there were only one to three tunnels left.

The war in the Gaza Strip has entered its fourth week with heavy casualties on both sides. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll is more than 1,800 people. Of these, the United Nations estimates that 70% to 80% are civilians. Israel said that 64 Israeli soldiers and 3 Israeli civilians were killed.

On Monday, August 4, during a temporary humanitarian ceasefire called by Israel that lasted for several hours, residents of the Gaza Strip poured into the streets, receiving aid and checking on the condition of the homes they had abandoned. Al-Saha, Gaza City's largest open-air market, was bustling with shoppers. Traffic was jammed on Gaza's main avenue, but the atmosphere was more relaxed, and children played in the streets. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed during the ceasefire, including an 8-year-old child, when a house in a Gaza City refugee area was hit by sniper fire. The shooting, which wounded 30 people, came after Israel began the ceasefire.

Israel said this did not violate the ceasefire because the attack ended just two minutes after the ceasefire went into effect and had begun before. Hamas has not accepted the ceasefire and according to the IDF at least 53 rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza on Monday. Daniel Mansour, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official responsible for gathering intelligence in northern Gaza, was targeted and killed before the ceasefire. He had been involved in directing rocket fire into Israel, the IDF said.

Jerusalem police have shot dead an excavator driver after he overturned a bus in what is believed to be a terrorist attack. Police said one pedestrian was killed and the bus driver was injured, with no passengers on board. The excavator driver was identified as Mohammed Jaabis, 20, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem's Jabal al-Mukaber neighbourhood. Footage aired by Israel's Channel 10 television showed the excavator continuing to flee as security forces approached, with shots also being fired. The incident took place in the Sheikh Jarrah area of ​​central Jerusalem, close to the entrance to the Orthodox Jewish quarter. Hamas praised the attack, saying it was a "natural response to Israeli crimes against the people of Gaza".

In the second attack, a man on a motorbike opened fire on an Israeli soldier near Hebrew University, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Rescue workers said the Israeli soldier was seriously injured. A witness told Channel 10 television that he heard gunshots and saw "a soldier clutching his chest. He took a few steps back and collapsed."

France is the latest country to condemn the fighting in Gaza and the shootings at the UN refugee camp. "How many more people must be killed before the massacre in Gaza stops?" French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius asked in a statement. He said Israel had the right to defend itself but "that does not justify the slaughter of children and civilians." He also said Hamas bore great responsibility for this "horrific wheel of extremism."

On Sunday, August 3, the United Nations and the United States condemned in the strongest terms the shooting at a UN refugee camp, an act the United States called "shameful." At least nine people were killed in the attack on the shelter of 3,000 people. Israel said it would carefully review the attack. The IDF said its attack targeted three Palestinian Jihadists who escaped on a motorbike next to a school used as a refugee camp. However, Israel did not say whether the suspects were hit.

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