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Two days into ceasefire: Egypt tries to reinforce Israel-Hamas truce
Updated 15:44, 23-May-2021
CGTN
02:16

Egypt sent a delegation to Israel on Friday to discuss ways to reinforce the truce between Israel and Palestinian militants after 11 days of fighting, Hamas officials told Reuters. 

The delegates have since been shuttling between Israel and Gaza, and on Saturday met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, an aide to the Palestinian leader said.

Gaza is in fact ruled by Hamas.

On Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said he would meet soon with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, after they spoke on Friday.

"I emphasized to him that any future arrangement would have to include guarantees regarding security issues and policy principles," Ashkenazi said on his Twitter page, adding that these included "stopping Hamas' armament.

After 11 days of fighting, Israel and Palestine signed a ceasefire agreement on Friday. Despite confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at a Jerusalem holy site on Friday, there were no reports of Hamas rocket launches from Gaza or Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian enclave overnight or on Saturday.

Both Hamas and Israel declared victory after the truce took effect. 

Saturday, hundreds of Hamas fighters wearing military camouflage paraded past the mourning tent for Bassem Issa, a senior commander killed in the fighting. The top Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehiyeh Sinwar, paid his respects in his first public appearance since the start of the recent clashes.

Meanwhile, Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel delivered a punishing blow to Hamas and that top Hamas figures remained targets.

Top Hamas leader in Gaza Yehiyeh Sinwar pays his respects at a mourning for a Hamas commander killed in the war, Gaza City, May 22, 2021. /AP

Top Hamas leader in Gaza Yehiyeh Sinwar pays his respects at a mourning for a Hamas commander killed in the war, Gaza City, May 22, 2021. /AP

Aid officials also called for immediate action in tackling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after the deadly fighting.

Egypt has been showing great support to the Palestinian people besieged on the Gaza Strip. 

Egyptian Red Crescent was the first to transport humanitarian supplies by truck through the Rafah passage – the only gateway open to the international community – to the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, Cairo vowed to allocate $500 million for the reconstruction of Gaza. 

Palestinian officials put reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars in Gaza, where medical officials said 248 people were killed in the fighting. Meanwhile, Israeli medics said rocket attacks had killed 13 people in Israel before the ceasefire.

On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called for "the full adherence" to the ceasefire and stressed the immediate need for humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians.

The UNSC was unable to issue a statement during the 11-day conflict due to the U.S.'s opposition as a statement had to be agreed on by consensus of the council's 15 members.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said Washington would work with the United Nations on bringing humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Gaza, with safeguards against funds being used to arm Hamas, which the West deems a terrorist group.

A source familiar with the planning said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Israel and the West Bank on Wednesday and Thursday, hoping to build on the ceasefire.

Seeking to build on the truce, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on Saturday urged Israel and the Palestinians to return to meaningful negotiations towards a two-state solution, which have been deadlocked for years.

"The EU cannot be expected to finance yet again the re-building of Gaza without a meaningful prospect of actually solving the underlying conflict," Borrell wrote in a blog post.

(With input from Reuters and AP)

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