A three-day cease-fire on the Gaza Strip began Friday after Israel
and Hamas agreed Thursday to an unconditional, 72-hour humanitarian
cease-fire in the conflict.
The cease-fire took effect at 8 am local time and is expected to last
for a period of 72 hours unless it's extended. Military forces will be
expected to stay in place during the cease-fire.
"This is not a time for congratulations or joy or anything except a
serious determination — a focus by everybody to try to figure out the
road ahead," Secretary of State John Kerry said in New Delhi Thursday,
where he was meeting with Indian officials. "This is a respite. It is a
moment of opportunity, not an end."
The U.S. and U.N. said they had gotten assurances that all parties to
the conflict had agreed to an unconditional cease-fire during which
there would be negotiations on a more durable truce.
Israeli and Palestinian delegations will "immediately" be going to
Cairo for negotiations with the Egyptian government to try at reach a
more permanent cease-fire, the State Department said.
"This cease-fire is critical to giving innocent civilians a
much-needed reprieve from violence," the State Department said in its
statement. "During this period, civilians in Gaza will receive urgently
needed humanitarian relief, and the opportunity to carry out vital
functions, including burying the dead, taking care of the injured, and
restocking food supplies. Overdue repairs on essential water and energy
infrastructure could also continue during this period."
During the cease-fire, Kerry said Israel will be able to continue its
defense operations to destroy tunnels that are behind its territorial
lines. The Palestinians will be able to receive food, medicine and
humanitarian assistance, bury their dead, treat the wounded and travel
to their homes. The time also will be used to make repairs to water and
energy systems.
"We hope this moment can be grabbed by both parties, but no one can force them to do that," Kerry said.
The Palestinian delegation is expected to include members of Hamas,
which the United States and Israel consider a terrorist organization and
cannot be negotiated with directly. So if the Israelis and Palestinians
meet face to face, the Hamas members will not participate in those
talks.
The Egyptians will be the go-between for all of this and will help
coordinate, a senior State Department official said, speaking on
condition of anonymity because the official wasn't allowed to discuss
the issue publicly by name.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the cease-fire announcement was
the result of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's trip recent trip to the
region "but also 48 hours of extremely active diplomacy at all levels
from the secretary-general to his senior advisers talking to key
regional players as well as Robert Serry, who is in Jerusalem, talking
to his counterparts."
Serry is the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
U.S. Mideast envoy Frank Lowenstein and others were expected to go to Egypt for the Egyptian-mediated talks in Cairo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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