ISRAEL SAYS THAT it will accept an Egyptian truce proposal for Gaza, which has US backing, but Hamas appeared to reject the bid, as the death toll in the week-long conflict rose to 186 Palestinians.
The truce proposal came as Egyptian state media reported that US Secretary of State John Kerry was due in Cairo to discuss an end to the hostilities, and after Washington warned Israel against a ground invasion of Gaza.
US President Barack Obama welcomed the Egyptian initiative and described the deaths of Palestinian civilians as a “tragedy” while reiterating that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks.
“We are encouraged that Egypt has made a proposal to accomplish this goal that we hope can restore the calm that we are seeking,” Obama said at an Iftar dinner marking the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan in the White House.
“The pictures that we are seeing in Gaza and in Israel are heart-wrenching,” he added.
Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, intended to stamp out militant rocket fire, had killed 186 people in Gaza by late Monday — exceeding the toll in the last similar flare-up of violence in 2012.
Late Monday, Cairo announced a proposal for a ceasefire that would begin Tuesday, saying it was willing to host high-level Israeli and Palestinian delegations for talks after a truce went into effect.
“0600 GMT has been set for the beginning of the implementation of truce arrangements between the two sides,” the text of the Egyptian proposal, released late Monday, said.
But that deadline was likely to be delayed, with Israel saying its security cabinet would meet today to weigh the proposal.
Death toll tops 2012
With Israel’s punishing air campaign in its seventh day, the death toll in Gaza hit 186, higher than the 177 people killed in the last major round of violence in and around Gaza in November 2012.
Human rights groups say more than 75 percent of the dead have been non-combatants. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says more than a quarter of them have been children.
The raids have prompted some 17,000 people to flee their homes, particularly in northern Gaza, with many taking refuge in UN schools.
Sixteen people were killed in strikes on Monday, far fewer than the 56 killed on Saturday, the bloodiest day by far of a campaign which began before dawn on July 8 with the aim of halting militant rocket fire on southern Israel.
So far, no Israelis have been killed. Four have been seriously wounded.
Originally posted 07:10
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