Israel agrees to extend Gaza war truce by 4 hours

Israel-Hamas fighting looked headed for escalation after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry failed Friday to broker a weeklong truce as a first step toward a broader deal and Israel's defense minister warned Israel might soon expand its Gaza ground operation 'significantly.'

Hours after the U.S.-led efforts stalled, the two sides agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire beginning Saturday. However, the temporary lull was unlikely to change the trajectory of the current hostilities amid ominous signs that the Gaza war is spilling over into the West Bank.

The Israeli military said in a statement that Saturday's 12-hour pause in fighting would start at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET). But it warned that the military 'shall respond if terrorists choose to exploit' the lull to attack Israeli troops 'or fire at Israeli civilians.' The military also said that 'operational activities to locate and neutralize tunnels in the Gaza Strip will continue.'

A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the group agreed to a 12-hour lull to allow civilians to receive aid and evacuate to safer areas.

Britain's U.N. ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters Friday that Britain is very disappointed at the failure to reach agreement on a sustainable cease-fire but perhaps a humanitarian pause 'will open up a little bit of space to work on a more sustainable cease-fire.'

Lyall Grant said key foreign ministers will be meeting in Paris on Saturday 'to decide precisely on the next steps.'

Associated Press, Reuters, CNN and Yahoo! News reported that the cease-fire comes after Israel's Security Cabinet unanimously rejected a cease-fire proposal Friday that called for a week-long truce in the deadly conflict.

Kerry's proposal had called for a temporary pause in fighting to allow Israelis and Palestinians to broker a broader deal. Israeli TV reported the deal was rejected mainly because Israel would have to cut short its effort at destroying Hamas tunnels.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon told troops Friday that Israel may significantly widen the Gaza ground operation.

Kerry said some 'terminology' on the truce's framework still needed to be worked out, speaking at an evening press conference in Cairo where he met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.

'We don't yet have that final framework, but none of us are stopping,' he said.

A deal proposed by Egypt last week was rejected by Hamas because the group said it wasn't consulted. Hamas says any peace deal must include the lifting of a blockade against Gaza.

The failure of the new cease-fire proposal comes as five Palestinians were shot and killed in protests Friday in the West Bank after Palestinians called for a 'Day of Rage' against the Israeli military's operation.

The circumstances surrounding the shootings in the northern village of Hawara and the southern village of Beit Omar, near Hebron, were not immediately clear.

Security was beefed up Friday in Jerusalem and the West Bank after thousands clashed with Israeli security forces Thursday night, leaving at least one Palestinian dead. Thursday's protests at a West Bank checkpoint and in East Jerusalem marked the largest demonstrations in those areas in several years.

The violence follows the shelling Thursday of a U.N. school, where at least 15 were killed and dozens wounded as the U.N. was trying to evacuate civilians in the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli shells hit the school. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident and suggested Hamas-launched rockets may have been responsible for the deaths.

The conflict - in its 18th day - has killed 860 Palestinians and left 5,700 injured, according to AP. In Israel, 38 people have been killed since July 8, including 35 soldiers, two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker.

The Israeli military said Friday that Oron Shaul, an Israeli soldier Hamas claimed to be holding, was in fact killed in battle Sunday.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said that Israel's military would continue to strike Hamas hard, in order to deter it from firing rockets at Israel in the future.

'At the end of the operation, Hamas will have to think very hard if it is worth it to taunt us in the future,' Yaalon was quoted as telling soldiers manning an Iron Dome anti-missile battery. 'You need to be ready for the possibility that very soon we will order the military to significantly broaden ground activity in Gaza.'

'Hamas is paying a very heavy price and will pay an even heavier price,' he said, according to a statement by his office.

In Tel Aviv, an Air Canada flight from Toronto aborted its first landing attempt Friday after Hamas fired several rockets toward Ben Gurion International Airport. But the Boeing 767-300 landed safely 10 minutes after the go-around and the airline plans to continue flying to Israel.

Five miles before landing, flight AC84 was advised by local air-traffic controllers to perform a standard go-around 'until airspace conditions could be confirmed as safe for landing,' said Isabelle Arthur, an airline spokeswoman. The plane landed safely at 12:07 p.m. and return flight 85 departed for Toronto at 1:59 p.m., Arthur said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Justice Minister Saleem Al-Saqqa and Ismail Jabr, the Gaza court public prosecutor, filed a complaint to the International Criminal Court on Friday, accusing Israel of war crimes, including apartheid, attacks against civilians, excessive loss of human life and colonization.

Support for Hamas, in spite of the casualties - or some say because of them - is growing in Gaza.Early Friday, Israeli planes hit 30 houses throughout Gaza, including the home of Salah Hassanein, a leader of the military wing of Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza after Hamas. Hassanein and two of his sons were killed in the strike, said Gaza police spokesman Ayman Batniji and al-Kidra. The Israeli army confirmed the strike.

'The problem is not with Hamas, the problem is the occupation,' said Arafat Yasin, 46, a displaced resident from the Shijaeyyah neighborhood in east Gaza City that came under heavy bombardment last weekend. 'The Palestinian Authority has been engaged in peace talks with Israelis for over 20 years, and the actions of the Israelis reflect their unwillingness to end their occupation.'

'It's clear that they - the Israelis - are not interested in peace,' he said.

Bhatti reported from Berlin. Contributing: Bart Jansen in Washington; news3blog.blogspot.com

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