Israel has accepted a Egyptian proposal for a truce in the conflict in Gaza. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has not formally responded. But its armed wing has rejected the plan as a “surrender”. The proposal urges a ceasefire starting imminently, followed by a series of meetings in Cairo with high-level delegations from both sides. Palestinian officials say at least 192 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes launched eight days ago to stop militants firing rockets into Israel. The UN estimates that over three-quarters of these were civilians. An estimated 1,400 Palestinians have been injured. At least four Israelis have been seriously injured since the violence flared, but no-one has been killed. Analysis Kevin Connolly, BBC Middle East correspondent For the first time since this conflict flared up more than a week ago, the talk is of how it might end rather than how it might intensify. Everything now depends very simply on how quickly and completely the salvos of rocket fire and the air raids end. If the guns fall silent, a space will be created in which other issues can be discussed – although no-one should underestimate the difficulty of those issues. No guarantee Israel’s security cabinet, convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, voted to approve the truce on Tuesday morning, minutes before the proposed time for it to come into effect. The BBC’s Kevin Connolly says there is no surprise in the proposal’s formula. Something like this has always been the likeliest way out of the crisis, our correspondent says. But there is no guarantee it will work, he adds. Palestinian militants have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel For now, Hamas sources are saying its attacks will “increase in ferocity and intensity” unless Israel releases prisoners and co-operates with Egypt to lift economic restrictions on Gaza. That is not encouraging but does not mean that a deal will not ultimately be done, our correspondent says – just that it will not be easy. In the latest violence, three people were killed in Khan Younis, south of Gaza, on Tuesday morning, shortly before Israel accepted the proposed truce. Israeli sources said at least three rockets landed in and around the southern Israeli city of Eilat overnight. Reports suggest they may have been fired from the Sinai peninsula in Egypt rather than from Gaza. Source : BBC online
