Gaza truce offered

News in Brief

Israel continues to lay siege to Gaza, collapsing the Gazan economy and causing a rising death toll.
On 12 March Hamas leader, Ismail Haniya, set out conditions for a truce. “There must be a commitment by Israel to end all its aggression against our people, assassinations, killings and raids, and lift the siege,” he said, stipulating that a ceasefire deal must be “reciprocal, comprehensive and simultaneous”, and apply to both Gaza and the West Bank.
A delegation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials is set to meet with Egyptian officials to discuss a possible truce with Israel. Israel is yet to reply.