After days of deadly conflict, Israel and the Hamas militant group agreed to a ceasefire after intense truce brokering by Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. According to the truce agreement, both sides will halt air strikes and rocket attacks that have killed 162 Palestinians - including 37 children - and five Israelis so far in the last eight days.
The announcement was made at a joint news conference in Cairo by Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamal Amr and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after series of talks involving diplomats of both the sides. "The agreement will improve conditions for the people of Gaza and provide security for the people of Israel," Clinton said at the news conference.
The ceasefire agreement came right in time to stop Israel from a speculated ground invasion of Gaza; however, its troops remain camped at the borders highlighting deep mistrust on both the sides of the future of the truce.
The future talks will focus on easing restrictions on border crossing of people and goods across Gaza. Negotiations are likely to face a deadlock on the Egypt's commercial crossing at Rafah which Israel fears is used for arms smuggling from Iran. Israel wants the border closed urgently to prevent Palestinian militant groups from restocking their missile inventory by easy supply from Iran.
According to CBC News, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said the truce is made upon an agreement to open all border crossings with the Gaza Strip including the controversial Rafah crossing with Egypt. "The document provides for the opening of all crossings," he said.
"According to these arrangements which have been negotiated with the Egyptians, there will be no hostile fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel whatsoever," the Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev was quoted in BBC. "From our point of view this is a victory, this is what our whole operation was about. And if we come out of this now with a sustained period of quiet and the people of southern Israel can have normal lives, from our point of view it was worth it and that's a plus," he said.
