Renewed Gaza truce holds after rocky start
- 10 years ago
As the sun rose over the Gaza Strip a tentative peace emerged.
Israeli tanks were deployed to the border as a ceasefire was extended by five days.
Israel and the Palestinians agreed on the truce with half an hour to spare before the midnight deadline expired.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR, AZZAM AHMED, SAYING:
"In the final moments, or the final minutes, it was agreed to extend the ceasefire for five more days. It will begin at midnight tonight and it will end on Monday. Instead of 72 hours, it is 120 hours. The Palestinian delegation will leave for Ramallah tomorrow morning for consultations with President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and with the Palestinian leadership."
But it was a shaky start to the deal with rockets from Gaza fired across the border and Israel responding with airstrikes.
It's a break in the fighting, in which nearly two thousand Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed.
But despite the temporary truc
Israeli tanks were deployed to the border as a ceasefire was extended by five days.
Israel and the Palestinians agreed on the truce with half an hour to spare before the midnight deadline expired.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR, AZZAM AHMED, SAYING:
"In the final moments, or the final minutes, it was agreed to extend the ceasefire for five more days. It will begin at midnight tonight and it will end on Monday. Instead of 72 hours, it is 120 hours. The Palestinian delegation will leave for Ramallah tomorrow morning for consultations with President Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and with the Palestinian leadership."
But it was a shaky start to the deal with rockets from Gaza fired across the border and Israel responding with airstrikes.
It's a break in the fighting, in which nearly two thousand Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed.
But despite the temporary truc