Israel, facing condemnation over the mounting death toll in its war on Hamas, ordered a temporary halt to bombing in part of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday so a humanitarian corridor can be created for the beleaguered population.
But the Israeli Cabinet also debated expanding the military offensive aimed at ending Hamas cross-border rocket attacks, while considering an Egyptian ceasefire initiative given new urgency by strikes on three United Nations schools in which dozens died.
A senior government official dampened hopes that Israel would soon agree a ceasefire under the plan proposed by Egypt, however.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak ”has instructed the army to prepare for the third stage of the operation”, the official told Agence France-Presse. ”We can’t see the operation stopping in the coming days. We still have to study the details of the Egyptian proposal.”
After more than 40 overnight air raids targeting rocket-launching sites and gunmen, Israel halted artillery and missile strikes for three hours in a zone around Gaza City but warned it would ”respond to any fire including rocket fire”.
The military said its bombing would be suspended between 1pm and 4pm (11am GMT and 2pm GMT) each day.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza — a key point of an Egyptian plan to end the 12-day-old campaign that has killed at least 680 Palestinians.
Olmert’s office said in a statement that the move was ”to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
”This involves opening up geographical areas for limited periods of time during which the population will be able to receive the aid and stock up.”
Aid agencies say there is already a major humanitarian crisis in Gaza where 685 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27, according to the territory’s medical services.
A government spokesperson said there were contacts with the international powers after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak proposed a three-point plan to end Israel’s largest military operation since the 2006 Lebanon war.
It called for an ”immediate ceasefire for a specific period”, Israel and the Palestinians to hold talks in Egypt on securing Gaza’s borders, reopening border crossings and a renewed call for Palestinian reconciliation talks under Egyptian mediation.
Mubarak announced the proposal after talks late on Tuesday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Olmert called a meeting of his security Cabinet and a spokesperson said he had not yet decided whether to accept Mubarak’s invitation.
Israel has insisted there can be no ceasefire until Hamas rocket attacks on Israel halt and there is an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt.
Hundreds of rockets fired into Israel over the past 12 days have killed four people and wounded dozens.
Six Israeli soldiers have been killed in combat in Gaza, while Israel says that more than 100 Hamas fighters have been killed during intense clashes across the territory.
The United States, Israel’s main ally, has backed Mubarak’s bid to secure a halt in the conflict.
”We are pleased by and wish to commend the statement of president — the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told an emergency UN Security Council session late on Tuesday.
Diplomatic efforts gained fresh urgency after deadly military strikes on three UN-run schools in Gaza.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who plans to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week, said he was ”deeply dismayed” by the strikes and called them ”totally unacceptable”.
More than 40 people were killed in the worst strike at Jabaliya in northern Gaza. The army said its investigation found militants had fired at Israeli forces from inside the school and that Hamas militants were among those killed.
The United Nations denied this on Wednesday.
”Following an initial investigation, we are 99,9% sure that there were no militants or militant activities in the school and the school compound,” said Christopher Gunness, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
”We are calling for an independent investigation to establish the facts,” he said. ”If the rules of war had been broken those found guilty must be brought to justice.”
There has been mounting international concern for the 1,5-million people in Gaza, one of the world’s most crowded places where the vast majority of the population depends on foreign aid. – AFP
