News Digest

Confusion over Hamas 24-hour truce declaration as bombs continue to fall

Hamas militants have agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian truce in their conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the group said on Sunday, hours after fighting between the sides resumed. Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group had reached an agreement among resistance factions to allow a period of “humanitarian calm”. The truce comes ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid marking the end of Ramadan. But in a series of interviews with US media, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of continuing to fire rockets into Israel and said they would do “what they had to” to defend themselves.

Hamas doesn’t even accept its own ceasefire, it’s continuing to fire at us as we speak.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel had called off its own 24-hour truce earlier in the day after Hamas launched rockets into southern and central Israel, and Palestinian medics said at least 10 people had died in the wave of subsequent strikes that swept Gaza. Some 1,060 Palestinians, mainly civilians and including many children, have been killed in the 20-day conflict. The number of Israeli troops to die in combat has risen to 43. Three civilians have also been killed in Israel, including a Thai national.