20th August, 2014
Egypt on Wednesday called on Israelis and Palestinians to resume negotiations, expressing its “profound regret at the breach of the ceasefire in Gaza”.
Hostilities broke out again in the densely-populated Mediterranean coastal enclave late on Tuesday when Palestinian rockets and Israeli air strikes halted fragile indirect talks in Cairo aimed at agreeing a long-term truce.
Egypt, which is attempting to broker a long-term end to the bloodshed, “is continuing contacts with both the Palestinian and Israeli sides to exhort them to respect the ceasefire once more, and carry on negotiations in a positive way in order to reach an agreement guaranteeing a permanent ceasefire,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Palestinian rescue workers said nine Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the fresh outbreak of hostilities, adding to more than 2,000 on the Palestinian side killed in the war since it began on July 8.
An Israeli military statement said “about 50” rockets had been fired from Gaza since the truce collapsed, but reported no casualties.