World Bulletin Media

Gaza 72-hour humanitarian truce by Israel and Hamas begins

However, hours after the truce began, Palestinians said four people had been killed by Israeli fire, apparently in response to a rocket attack.
Israel accused Hamas of a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire, but correspondents say Gaza in general appears relatively quiet.
Israel says it is continuing to destroy tunnels built by Hamas into Israel.
Some 1,460 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the conflict, health officials say. Sixty-three Israelis, mostly soldiers, have died.
Israel says it aims to stop rocket attacks by Palestinian militants in Gaza and remove the threat of being attacked from the tunnels.
Hamas wants a blockade of Gaza, maintained by both Israel and Egypt, to be lifted.
'Much needed reprieve' The BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza says that Israeli bombing and Palestinian rocket attacks continued until the start of the ceasefire but the skies are now quiet.
During the morning life appeared to be returning to some kind of normality in Gaza, with many Palestinians heading towards heavily shelled areas to see if their homes were still intact.
But the Gaza health ministry reported that four Palestinians were killed and dozens were injured in an Israeli attack near the southern town of Rafah after the ceasefire began.
Israeli military sources told the BBC the attack was in response to rocket fire on Kerem Shalom in Israel.
"Once again the terror organisations in Gaza flagrantly violating the ceasefire to which they committed themselves," Israeli officials said without specifying any incident.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Gaza says that compared to the violence of recent weeks much of Gaza is relatively quiet, and the breach does not mean the truce has broken down.
Announcing the ceasefire, the US and UN emphasised its humanitarian nature but said Israeli troops would be allowed to stay on the ground in Gaza.
"We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian ceasefire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the ceasefire," US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in the joint statement.
"This ceasefire is critical to giving innocent civilians a much-needed reprieve from violence," the statement went on.
It said that during the ceasefire period, civilians in Gaza would receive "urgently needed humanitarian relief, and the opportunity to carry out vital functions, including burying the dead, taking care of the injured and restocking food supplies".
Speaking in India, Mr Kerry warned that a break in the fighting did not guarantee an end to the conflict.
"This is a respite. It is a moment of opportunity, not an end," he said.
Israeli and Palestinian delegations have arrived in Cairo for negotiations with the government of Egypt, at the invitation of Egypt, the statement said, with the aim of reaching "a durable ceasefire".
Correspondents say both Israel and Hamas will be content with a long-term truce similar to those that ended the conflicts in 2009 and 2012.
Hamas and the broader Palestinian authorities are seeking an end to the blockade on Gaza.