Egypt is reportedly spearheading attempts to broker a ceasefire to end the major flareup which saw over 400 rockets and projectiles launched at Israeli cities and over 150 Israeli airstrikes in retaliation.
Yet, a number of diplomatic sources have claimed that Israel is not cooperating with UN and Egyptian efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to the recent flareup.
Israel has not given any official statement regarding ceasefire agreements, and conflicting reports concerning Israeli participation in negotiations have emerged in the media.
A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel “We’re not talking with them about a ceasefire,” referring to international negotiators.
At the same time, Haaretz quoted a foreign diplomatic source who denied that Israeli contacts with Egypt and the UN have been ceased.
Both sides of the conflict have been urged by the international community to step back from the edge of war the past day’s violence has threatened in the largest flareup in Israel-Gaza relations since the 2014 war.
Egypt has told both Israel and the Palestinians that they need to commit to de-escalation and has stepped up efforts to secure a ceasefire between the foes.
Egypt is also reportedly pressuring the international community to step up and intervene to “stop Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.”
According to high-level Egyptian diplomatic sources, Egypt told Israel that it needs to stop its “escalatory operations” referring to the heavy Israeli strikes in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority news site reported.
The UN special envoy for Middle East peace, Nickolay Mladenov said Monday night that the UN was working closely with Egypt to pressure Gaza to “step back from the brink.”
Truce bid
An internationally brokered agreement between Israel and Hamas has been thrown into jeopardy after the latest flareup of violence that began when an Israeli special forces operation turned deadly, with seven Hamas fighters and one IDF soldier killed.
Recent weeks have seen Israel allow Qatar to provide the Gaza Strip with millions of dollars in aid for salaries as well as fuel to help ease an electricity crisis.
Before the flare-up, Netanyahu had defended his decision to allow Qatar to transfer the cash to Gaza despite criticism from within his own government over the move, saying he wanted to avoid a war if it was not necessary.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, and recent months have raised fears of a fourth.
Deadly clashes have accompanied major protests along the Gaza-Israel border that began on March 30.
At least 231 Palestinians have since been killed by Israeli fire, the majority shot during protests and clashes, while others died in tank fire or air strikes.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in that time.
Egyptian and UN officials have been mediating between Israel and Hamas in an effort to reach a long-term truce deal.