Palestinian negotiators on Sunday said they had accepted an Egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour truce with Israel, clearing the way for a possible resumption of talks on a long-term cease-fire arrangement in the Gaza Strip.
“We are here to look for an agreement. We cannot have an agreement without talks, so we accepted an Egyptian proposal to have a ceasefire for 72 hours in order to resume the talks,” said a Palestinian negotiator.
The proposal was also sent to Jerusalem for approval, but a Prime Minister official responding to the report said he “could not go beyond what Netanyahu said this morning.”
At the start of the cabinet meeting earlier on Sunday, the Prime Minister repeated Israel’s stance that “it would not negotiate under fire,” and emphasized that the military campaign was ongoing.
After sporadic rocket fire targeted the Israeli communities surrounding Gaza throughout Sunday morning and afternoon, heavy rocket fire just after 3 p.m. set off repeated sirens in Ashkelon and the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council.
At least one rocket was intercepted over Ashkelon, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Just prior to the launching of the salvo, the IDF struck a terror operative in southern Gaza who was preparing to launch projectiles into Israel. The army struck an additional terror operative in the northern Gaza Strip.
The border crossing at Kerem Shalom in the southern Gaza Strip was closed by the Israeli Defense Ministry after rockets were fired in its direction.
The Border Crossings Authority said that trucks carrying flammable material were nearly struck by rockets, prompting the decision to shut the crossing.