Advertisement

Cease-fire extension not happening, says Hamas

Israel agrees to four-hour extension of 12-hour cease-fire, but Hamas fires rockets.

By Danielle Haynes
Rescue workers carry the body of a member of al-Najar family, after removing it from under the rubble of their home following an Israeli air strike on Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza strip , on July 26, 2014. An Israeli air strike in southern Gaza hours before a humanitarian truce was declared killed 20 people, including 11 children, most of them from the Najjar family, medics said. UPI/Ismael Mohamad
1 of 12 | Rescue workers carry the body of a member of al-Najar family, after removing it from under the rubble of their home following an Israeli air strike on Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza strip , on July 26, 2014. An Israeli air strike in southern Gaza hours before a humanitarian truce was declared killed 20 people, including 11 children, most of them from the Najjar family, medics said. UPI/Ismael Mohamad | License Photo

JERUSALEM, July 26 (UPI) -- Though Israel agreed to a four-hour extension of its cease-fire with Palestinians on Saturday, Hamas fired rockets into Israel, nulling the possible deal.

The initial 12-hour cease=fire expired 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. ET.

Advertisement

Israel agreed to another four hours of truce to give diplomats extra time to work on a longer agreement, but moments after the end of the first cease-fire, rockets fired from Gaza hit Israel. There were no injuries reported in that attack.

Hamas spokesman Abu Zuhri said no to an extension.

"There won't been any talks about extending the cease-fire as long as there aren't talks about breaking the siege," said Israa Al-Mudalal of the Gaza Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Israeli officials told CNN the United Nations has asked for 24 hours of peace for negotiations.

"We owe to the people of both Israel and Gaza our renewed effort to consolidate this pause in fighting into a more sustainable cease-fire," U.S. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, calling for a week-long humanitarian ceasefire.

The cease-fire allowed Palestinians to return to their homes and remove bodies from rubble. More than 100 bodies were removed that had previously been too difficult to access, Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra from the Gaza Ministry of Health said.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines