Israeli army shells Gaza; ceasefire talk gathers steam

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Source: Reuters

Israeli army shells Gaza; ceasefire talk gathers steam
By Nidal al-Mughrabi – Wed Jan 14, 9:45 pm ET

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli tanks and artillery pounded Gaza city in a relentless barrage of shelling on Thursday, despite some signs of progress in the international effort to bring about a ceasefire to the 20-day conflict.

Live video footage from a Reuters camera in downtown Gaza showed sustained artillery fire from the edge of the city for several hours. Shells exploded in downtown areas and long machinegun bursts echoed off Gaza's cramped housing blocks.

Israeli forces have encircled the city of 500,000 people for days. Tanks have made forays toward the center to test the resistance of Hamas and other militant groups but have held off a full-scale assault on the densely populated urban maze.

The Palestinian death toll from the air-and-ground offensive has risen to at least 1,024, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. A Palestinian rights group said 670 of the dead were civilians. Thirteen Israelis have been killed: 10 soldiers and three civilians hit by Hamas rocket fire.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090115/ts_nm/us_palestinians_israel

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1. Israeli envoy in Cairo as Gaza mediation proceeds

Israeli envoy in Cairo as Gaza mediation proceeds
15 Jan 2009 08:23:19 GMT
Source: Reuters
CAIRO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Egyptian mediation for a truce between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza moved into a new stage on Thursday with the arrival in Cairo of Israeli Defence Ministry official Amos Gilad.

A Hamas delegation ended several days of talks in Cairo on Wednesday and said it had given the Egyptians its comments on an Egyptian peace plan which includes securing the Egypt-Gaza border and ending the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Airport officials said Gilad, Egypt's main contact on the Israeli side in the mostly secret talks, arrived by private plane from Tel Aviv and would stay several hours. (Writing by Jonathan Wright; editing by Michael Roddy) ... http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LF706093.htm