A Hamas delegation was due in Cairo yesterday for talks on a fragile three-week-old Gaza truce as Israel said it would reopen its borders with the territory at the Egyptian mediator’s request.
The delegation was to discuss details of the truce and what Hamas says are Israeli violations, as well as proposals for the reopening of a border crossing with Egypt — Gaza’s only one that bypasses Israel.
The truce was meant to lead to a gradual easing of a year-old blockade of Gaza imposed after Hamas seized power in June last year, but Israel yesterday temporarily resealed the territory for the fourth time since the ceasefire went into effect on June 19.
Israel said it was closing the border crossings in retaliation for a mortar round fired from Gaza on Monday in breach of the truce.
But “following a special request by the Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the reopening of the crossings at about noon ,” Barak’s office said in a statement.
Since the truce went into effect, Israel has responded to rocket and mortar attacks by sealing off the overcrowded territory where a majority of the 1.5 million population depends on food aid.
Hamas has said its own fighters are adhering to the truce and insists it is doing its best to crack down on individuals and smaller armed groups who violate it.
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