Renewed Gaza truce holds

JERUSALEM: Israel and Palestinians in Gaza were holding their fire Thursday after a new truce got off to a shaky start with overnight Palestinian rocket fire followed by Israeli airstrikes. Late on Wednesday, negotiators in Cairo brokered an 11th-hour extension to an existing truce, with the warring sides agreeing to lower their guns for another five days to allow for continued negotiations over a long-term cease-fire. But even beforehand, a rocket struck southern Israel with another hitting in the following hours, the army said, without specifying whether they were fired before or after the new truce came into effect at midnight local time. Israeli warplanes hit back with four airstrikes, Palestinian security officials said, saying the skies fell silent at around 3:00 a.m. “An agreement to extend the cease-fire for five days has been accepted by both sides to allow more time for negotiations,” an Egyptian foreign ministry statement said. Chief Palestinian negotiator Azzam Al-Ahmed said the delegations had reached “agreement on many points” over lifting Israel’s eight-year blockade on Gaza, although they needed more time to settle a number of remaining disputes. Israel also confirmed its acceptance of the Egyptian proposal. AFP