REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, GAZA/JERUSALEM - Israel will extend a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip by a further four hours, a government source said on Saturday, as the number of Palestinian deaths in the 19-day war topped 1,000. It was not immediately clear if Hamas, who control the coastal enclave, were also willing to prolong the ceasefire, which was originally due to last just 12 hours.
Gazans took advantage of the lull in fighting to recover their dead and stock up on food supplies, flooding into the streets after the ceasefire took hold at 8.00 am and discovering scenes of massive destruction in some areas.
"It's all gone, our whole lives were in that house, home to 18 people!" screamed Zaneen, a small woman in a black robe and purple head scarf, as she wondered through the debris in the town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
"My God, we want peace, peace and for all this to stop!"
Israel's security cabinet was due to convene later on Saturday to discuss international efforts, being led by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris, to secure a longer lasting truce.
But while Israel was ready to extend the ceasefire, one security cabinet minister, Gilad Erdan, said a definitive deal looked remote, with no representatives from Israel, Egypt or the Palestinian Authority attending the Paris talks.
"I think we are very far from a diplomatic solution. It makes much more sense that we are closer to expanding the military operation," he told Israel's Channel 2 Television.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said rescue teams had taken advantage of the truce to search wrecked neighborhoods and had retrieved more than 100 bodies. This brought the number of Palestinian fatalities, most of them civilians, up to 1,000 since July 8 when Israel launched its offensive, aimed at ending rocket fire out of Gaza.
Just before the truce started, 18 members of a single family, including five children, died in a strike near the southern town of Khan Younis, medics said.
Israel made clear that despite the truce, its military would carry on searching for hidden tunnels in Gaza. Hamas and its allies agreed to the terms and there were no reports of major flare-ups through the day.
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