From 8:00am to 8:00pm yesterday there was a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Towards the end of that ceasefire the UN requested that the parties involved extend it for 24 hours.
After the ceasefire ended yesterday evening the Israeli government proposed a four hour extension, but on its terms.
Hamas rejected this and announced a willingness to observe a 24-hour ceasefire as proposed by the UN.
At about midnight last night the Israeli government announced that it would observe a 24-hour ceasefire, but again on its terms.
This also was rejected by Hamas who insisted on a ceasefire according to the UN's proposal.
Between 8:00pm yesterday evening and about 10:00am this morning a number of rockets (it seems about a dozen) and mortars were fired into Israel from Gaza.
At about 10:00am this morning the Israeli government announced that it would resume full military operations and began bombing and shelling Gaza again.
There has been a huge disagreement about the terms of the ceasefires.
Hamas insists that the ceasefire as proposed by the UN means a full ceasefire in which both Hamas and the Israeli military would cease all of their military activites and that ambulances and rescue and recovery would be allowed to access all areas in Gaza including those areas under Israeli control.
The Israeli government, however, continued its military activities, but in limited manor, in areas in Gaza under its control during the ceasefires.
The Israeli military also did not allow ambulances and rescue and recovery access to areas under its control in Gaza during the ceasefires.
Now that fighting seems to have resumed the questions are how intense it will be and whether and when the intenational community will once again work to reestablish a ceasefire.
In addition to the ceasefires mentioned above, there are also several other ceasefires (de-escalation and/or permanent) being discussed these days.
The reader, viewer, or listener also sometimes is in a situation where he or she has to try to work out whether the ceasefire being discussed, written about, or spoken about is a UN proposal, an Egyptian proposal, a Hamas proposal, an Israeli proposal, or US/EU/Arab League proposals, and which type - humanitarian, political, tactical, de-escalation, or permanent.
1:55pm UPDATE: A new humanitarian ceasefire is possible.
Hamas has accepted a UN proposal for a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire.
Hamas fighters have agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian truce in its conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip that should start within the hour, the group's spokesman said.
"In response to the UN intervention and considering the situation of our people and the occasion of Eid, it has been agreed among resistance factions to endorse a 24-hour humanitarian calm, starting from 2pm on Sunday," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
There was no immediate word from Israel, which called off its own 24-hour truce earlier in the day claiming that fired a volley of rockets into southern and central Israel. Hamas rejected the claim.
http://live.aljazeera.com/...
But notice how Haaretz reports the same news:
LIVE UPDATES: Hamas asks for 24-hour humanitarian truce
LIVE UPDATES: After previous cease-fire collapses due to rocket fire and IDF retaliation, Hamas asks for another truce
1:34 P.M. UN envoy Robert Serry conveyed a request to Israel from Hamas for a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire, a senior Israeli official said.
"In response to UN intervention and considering the situation of our people and the occasion of Eid, it has been agreed among resistance factions to endorse a 24-hour humanitarian calm, starting from 2 p.m. on Sunday," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Israel has yet to respond to the request and will make a decision on the matter in a security cabinet meeting scheduled for later Sunday.
http://www.haaretz.com/...