Israel signals Gaza war winding down
GAZA/JERUSALEM: Israel signalled it was winding down the 25-dayold Gaza war unilaterally, saying on Saturday it would not attend Egyptian-hosted negotiations for a new truce and giving Palestinians who had fled fighting in one northern town the all-clear to return.
But shelling exchanges continued, with Palestinian officials saying Gaza’s mostly civilian death toll rose to 1,669 and Israel saying its Iron Dome interceptor shot down rockets launched at the cities of Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
The Israeli army on Saturday also informed residents of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza that it was “safe” to return to their homes, as witnesses said troops were seen withdrawing from the area. It was the first time troops had been seen pulling back since the start of the devastating 26-day Gaza conflict.
Israel also accused Hamas of seizing lieutenant Hadar Goldin and the US blamed the group for a “barbaric” breach of the truce. The United Nations was more guarded in its censure of Hamas but urged Goldin’s immediate release. Seeking to shift responsibility, Hamas said it believed its gunmen had struck before Friday’s ceasefire began and that if they captured Goldin, he probably died with his captors in heavy Israeli barrages that followed.
A Palestinian delegation was to fly to Cairo for new truce negotiations, which would include Hamas’s demand that Egypt ease movement across its border with blockaded Gaza.