Netanyahu Justifies Gaza Massacres, Ready to Extend Truce

Local Editor

"Israel" is to extend its ceasefire in the Gaza Strip beyond the current truce, which is scheduled to expire at 8am on Friday, an official has said.

"Israel" had "expressed its readiness to extend the truce under its current terms", the official added, referring to the three-day cessation agreed on Tuesday.

But Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior figure in Hamas said on social media: "There is no agreement to extend the ceasefire."

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, added that "extending the 72-hour calm for another period was not discussed" during indirect talks in Egypt between the "Israelis" and Palestinians.

The Palestinian delegation includes negotiators from Hamas, as well as members of Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, "Israel's" Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defended the Zionist entity's massacres in Gaza. He said the intense bombardment was a necessary response to Hamas attacks, adding: "It was justified. It was proportionate."

Nearly 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been martyred in Gaza.

The talks in Cairo centered on extending the ceasefire and ending "Israel's" blockade of Gaza.
"The two sides have reviewed what they consider as issues of concern," said the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shukri, describing the matter as "complicated".

"The most important thing to us is removing the blockade and starting to reconstruct Gaza," said Bassam Salhi, a Palestinian delegate. "There can be no deal without that."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team