Egypt still working to convince Israel to accept ceasefire, PA envoy says

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN said Tuesday night Egyptian mediators were in Israel still trying to get the government to agree on a Gaza ceasefire, despite earlier indications that it already had.

Cairo’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Egypt has “reiterated… its request to Israel to immediately stop all forms of military action” in Gaza.

Hamas and other Gaza terror groups indicated Tuesday afternoon that they had accepted an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire with Israel. Terms of the deal were not immediately known, and there was no immediate comment from Israel. But a senior Israeli diplomatic official appeared to confirm the reported armistice.

“Israel maintains its right to act. Requests from Hamas for a ceasefire came through four different mediators. Israel responded that the events on the ground will decide [if a ceasefire will go into effect],” the official said, on condition of anonymity.

Cairo, which along with the United Nations has acted as a mediator, underlined “the necessity to bring an end to the violence and escalation, to restore calm immediately.”

Egypt also warned of “serious and negative consequences of continuing this vicious cycle” of violence.

Riyad Mansour, who represents the Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that “we are grateful for the Egyptians who are mediating.”

The Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, has said it agreed to the Egyptian ceasefire proposal. There has been no official word yet from Israel, though reports have indicated agreement.

There have been no rocket attacks since Tuesday afternoon, and the Israeli military has stopped its strikes in Gaza as well.

Mansour said “the Palestinian side is holding the quietness in order to allow for the Egyptian efforts to succeed.” He said Abbas was returning from Kuwait for emergency meetings.

Mansour condemned Israel for starting the cycle of violence with a botched undercover military operation on Sunday.

At the Palestinians’ request, he said, Kuwait and Bolivia had asked for a meeting of the UN Security Council on the Israeli actions. China, the current council president, has called for closed consultations late Tuesday.

According to the Israeli military, Gazan groups fired at least 460 rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel over the course of 25 hours on Monday and Tuesday.

The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted over 100 of them. Most of the rest landed in open fields, but dozens landed inside Israeli cities and towns, killing one person, injuring dozens more, and causing significant property damage.

In response to the rocket and mortar attacks, the Israeli military says it targeted approximately 160 sites in the Gaza Strip connected to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including four facilities that the army designated as “key strategic assets” of Hamas.

The latest round of violence erupted after an IDF special operation inside Gaza went awry, leading to exchanges of fire that killed an IDF officer and seven Palestinian gunmen.