Israel eases Gaza bombing but no end to war
Israel on Wednesday gave Gaza a brief respite from its daily bombing which has left hundreds dead but the cabinet debated stepping up the war on Hamas despite an Egyptian ceasefire initiative.
Israel, under mounting pressure over the civilian toll, started a daily three hour suspension of its bombing in an area near the Palestinian territory”s main city to let in humanitarian aid.
The government said it was in contact with Egypt and international powers over proposals to halt its military offensive aiming to halt deadly Hamas rocket attacks across the border.
Diplomatic efforts were stepped up after Israeli tank and missile strikes on three UN schools in Gaza on Tuesday left dozens dead.
But the Israeli cabinet debated expanding the military offensive and a senior government official dampened hopes that Israel would soon agree a ceasefire under the Egyptian plan.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak "has instructed the army to prepare for the third stage of the operation," the official told AFP. "We can”t see the operation stopping in the coming days. We still have to study the details of the Egyptian proposal."
After more than 40 overnight air raids targeting rocket-launching sites and gunmen, Israel halted artillery and missile strikes for three hours in a zone around Gaza City but warned it would "respond to any fire including rocket fire."
The military said bombing would be suspended between 1:00pm and 4:00pm (1100 GMT and 1400 GMT) each day. Hamas said it would also stop rocket attacks during this period.
The office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said food, fuel, medicine and other supplies would be let into Gaza "to prevent a humanitarian crisis" in the territory where at least 689 people, including 220 children, have been killed since Operation Cast Lead was launched on December 27.
In this period, more than 3,100 Palestinians have been wounded, Gaza medics say.
Six Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza, while Israel says that more than 100 Hamas fighters have been killed during intense clashes across the territory.
A government spokesman said there had been contacts with international powers after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak proposed a three-point plan to end Israel”s largest military operation since the 2006 Lebanon war.
It called for an "immediate ceasefire for a specific period," Israel and the Palestinians to hold talks in Egypt on securing Gaza”s borders, reopening border crossings and a renewed call for Palestinian reconciliation talks under Egyptian mediation.
Mubarak announced the proposal after talks late on Tuesday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Russia”s top Middle East envoy met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus on Wednesday. A Russian foreign ministry statement said Meshaal declared himself ready to take part in a "political-diplomatic solution" but that "the imposition of capitulatory conditions by Israel were unacceptable."
Israel has insisted there can be no ceasefire until Hamas rocket attacks on Israel halt and there is an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt.
Hundreds of rockets fired into Israel over the past 12 days have killed four people and wounded dozens.
The United States, Israel”s main ally, backed Mubarak”s bid to secure a halt in the conflict.
"We are pleased by and wish to commend the statement of president — the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told an emergency UN Security Council session late on Tuesday.
Diplomatic efforts gained fresh urgency after deadly military strikes on three UN-run schools in Gaza.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who plans to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week, said he was "deeply dismayed" by the strikes and called them "totally unacceptable."
Forty-three people were killed in the worst strike at Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The army said its investigation found militants had fired at Israeli forces from inside the school and that Hamas militants were among those killed.
The United Nations denied this on Wednesday.
"Following an initial investigation, we are 99.9 percent sure that there were no militants or militant activities in the school and the school compound," Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the UN refugee agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, told AFP.
"We are calling for an independent investigation to establish the facts," he said. "If the rules of war had been broken those found guilty must be brought to justice."
There has been mounting international concern for the 1.5 million people in Gaza, one of the world”s most crowded places where the vast majority of the population depends on foreign aid.