"Israel" Escalates Aggression, Truce to the Unknown

Local Editor The talk of truce between Gaza and Zionist entity retreated to the column of the unknown as "Israel" escalated its aggression on the besieged strip. In details, "Israel" intensified attacks on the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday as officials announced that an agreement on an Egyptian-brokered truce had been delayed at the last minute, pushing the continuous "Israeli" aggression in to its eighth deadly day. This comes after it was declared that a diplomatic push had cemented a deal to end the conflict. Earlier Tuesday, Ayman Taha, a Hamas official, announced that a cease-fire had been reached and would go into effect within hours and an Egyptian official said an agreement would be reached Tuesday. But later in the evening, the deal appeared to be delayed. A senior official from a Palestinian faction involved in the talks stated that the agreement was effectively finalized, but that the "Israelis" had delayed signing, in objection to the fact that Hamas had publicly announced the deal. For his part, "Israeli" PM Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, told Reuters that the ""Israeli" military operations in Gaza would continue in parallel with diplomacy." A Hamas official told Reuters the efforts to broker a truce had been held up because the "Israeli" government had yet to respond to proposals, indicating there would be no cease-fire until Wednesday at the earliest. "The "Israeli" side has not responded yet, so we will not hold a news conference this evening and must wait until tomorrow," Ezzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas leader, said. Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi, earlier, said the negotiations between the two sides would yield positive results during the coming hours. In what appeared to be a last-minute burst of heavy fire, "Israeli" tanks and gunboats heavily shelled the strip. Six Palestinians were martyred in "Israeli" raids Tuesday night, raising the day's toll to 26.The Hamas emergency services said that two brothers in the southern town of Rafah were martyred in a strike that hit their motorcycle. Four others were killed in night raids around the central town of Deir al-Balah. Earlier, two cameramen from al-Aqsa TV were martyred in "Israeli" air raids on the Gaza Strip, according to Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra, who said the strike hit a car in Gaza City's Nasser area that was clearly marked as a press vehicle. Separately, the ambulance service announced that two children had been martyred in a strike on Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood, with a statement saying they had arrived at the city's Shifa hospital "in pieces." Elsewhere, 15-year-old Yahya Mohammad Awad was killed as he hunted birds near the beach when a missile hit the northern Sudaniya area, and three men died in the nearby town of Beit Lahiya and in Mughraqa, just south of Gaza City. The overall Palestinian death toll in the aggression that began on Nov. 14 exceeded 136 as of Tuesday night. Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!