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The Financial Express

Hamas team visits Egypt to discuss truce with Israel


Bassem Na'im Bassem Na'im

A delegation, including Islamic Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad movement, on Thursday left Gaza Strip through Rafah border to Egypt to discuss the understanding of the truce with Israel, according to officials of the two movements, reports Xinhua.

Khader Habib, the leader of Islamic Jihad, told Xinhua that the visit is upon to the call of Egypt to discuss the improvements of the Palestinian situations and the understandings of truce with Israel.

Habib accused Israel of trying to shirk its obligations on the understandings to break the blockade that has been imposed on Gaza Strip since 2007, adding "Israel is responsible for any escalation will be launched in the Strip."

Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar have been in talks for several months between the Palestinian factions in Gaza and Israel to promote the truce following the protests of March 30, 2018 rallies demanding the lifting of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip since mid-2007.

Meanwhile, Bassem Na'im, the leader of Islamic Hamas movement, said "Israel is looking for any justifications to shirk its obligations on the understanding to break its blockade, what was committed to the United Nations and Egyptian mediator."

Na'im added "the Palestinian people will not allow Israel in any way to continue its blockade against them or keep its shirking from the understandings to install the truce, under pretexts of flimsy."

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad delegation is going to Egypt following field tensions with Israel after weeks of relative calm.

The Israeli army announced on Thursday that two rockets were fired from Gaza Strip toward the Israeli cities, with no injuries or damages reported.

No Palestinian factions claimed the responsibility for the shells.

The rockets were fired from Gaza in response to the Israeli air strikes that targeted a Hamas post in northern Gaza strip.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military says it struck several Hamas militant sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons with explosives launched from the strip.

The military says it hit the sites in northern Gaza Strip early on Thursday. It says that afterward, two rockets were fired out of Gaza. There were no injuries on either side.

The brief flareup marked the first Israeli strike in more than a month. Egyptian mediators have been trying to reach a long-term cease-fire during the lull.

Israel previously scaled back the permitted fishing zone off Gaza's Mediterranean coast following a rocket attack.

Israel says it holds Gaza's Hamas rulers responsible for all attacks from the coastal territory. The sides have engaged in several rounds of cross-border fighting over the past year.

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