Israel Warns of Extended Gaza Conflict as Hamas Leaders Defiant
By Calev Ben-David and Jonathan Ferziger Aug 25, 2014 5:50 AM ET
Israel and the Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas group showed no sign of backing down as Egyptian mediators tried to coax them back into a temporary cease-fire.
With hostilities entering their eighth week, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid told Army Radio today that his country’s battle against Gaza militants would “take time.” “Anyone looking for a magic solution, or a shortcut, will find themselves in a lengthier process,” Lapid said.
Hamas said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat to hunt down more militant leaders only emboldens it. Israel has “resorted to threats of assassination and other actions designed to scare us, but the will of our people will not be broken,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said late yesterday.
At least three Gazans were killed in Israeli raids today, bringing the total Palestinian death toll to more than 2,100, including hundreds of civilians, according to Gaza Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Qedra. Sixty-eight on the Israeli side, all but four of them soldiers, have also died since Israel embarked on its offensive July 8 with the declared aim of halting rocket fire.
Egypt last week proposed an open-ended truce to give the sides time to work on a more lasting accord. Bassam Salhi, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team in Cairo, said militant factions agreed to halt their fire to allow for the start of reconstruction in Gaza, where thousands of buildings have been damaged, and in some cases leveled, by Israeli strikes.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-25/israel-warns-of-extended-gaza-conflict-as-hamas-leaders-defiant.html