Fate of Gaza truce uncertain as death toll exceeds 2,000

GAZA CITY: The Gaza death toll rose over 2,000 Monday as the clock ticked toward a midnight deadline and negotiators in Cairo strove to hammer out a decisive end to weeks of bloodshed. As millions in and around Gaza enjoyed an eighth day of calm brought on by two back-to-back truce agreements, tensions were once again on the rise ahead of a new deadline ending a five-day cease-fire which expires at 2100 GMT. But there was little sign of any workable consensus emerging from ongoing talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Cairo. The warring parties have just hours left to either reach an agreement, accept a further extension or risk a resumption of the fighting which has wreaked destruction across the densely-populated Mediterranean coastal enclave. The aim is to broker a long-term arrangement to halt over a month of bloody fighting which erupted on July 8 although both sides have largely lowered their guns since August 4 thanks to a series of temporary truce arrangements. Ahead of the deadline, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was traveling to Doha Monday for talks with exiled Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. Qatar is a key backer of Hamas, the de facto rulers of Gaza. As diplomatic efforts intensified, Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll from the fighting rose above 2,000 as more people succumbed to injuries. The figures showed 2,016 people had been killed and another 10,196 wounded. Among the dead were 541 children, 250 women and 95 elderly men.   AFP