A team of aides of UN's Middle East Envoy Nikolay Mladenov completed a short three-hour visit to Gaza Strip during which they met with the Hamas leadership to discuss a ceasefire and re-examine the details of the UN-Egypt truce proposal.
The team, which includes Mladenov’s deputy and three of his aides, arrived about 72 hours after a truce between the Palestinian factions and Israel under the auspices of the UN official and Egypt.
Palestinian sources with knowledge of the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that the delegation discussed with the Hamas leadership cementing the agreement reached on Thursday evening to allow the resumption of talks on the proposal previously presented and the movement's vision of the expected truce.
Mladenov has a full plan to revive the economy and the living situation of people in Gaza with international and Arab support, said the sources.
New raidsThe team’s visit coincided with new Israeli raids on a group launching incendiary kites in Gaza, wounding three young men.
Palestinian sources said that warplanes attacked groups at east Beit Hanoun, east of Jabalia, east of Gaza, and east of the camp Bureij.
The Israeli army confirmed that it struck those who launched flaming kites carrying Molotov cocktails, pointing out that these groups routinely sent the kites at Israeli towns adjacent to the border of the Strip.
Israeli media reported that several fires broke out in the towns bordering Gaza and were contained by firefighters.
Israel demands that the ceasefire includes a halt to burning kites from Gaza, while Hamas considers them a popular means of "fighting" used among other means, such as marches on the border to demand ending the Israeli blockade.
Palestinian factions in Gaza believe the truce deal will remain fragile without an Israeli commitment to ceasing attacks in Gaza. The factions demand that sponsors of the agreement pressure the Israeli occupation to stop these attacks.
Hundreds of Palestinians of Rafah marched, on Saturday, in the funeral processions of three Palestinians killed by the Israeli army during the Friday’s protests at the borders.
Health Ministry in Gaza announced Saturday morning that Ahmad Abu Luli, 40, succumbed on Saturday morning to wounds he sustained on Friday, making him the third person to die from live ammunition after Paramedic Abdullah Qatati, 22, and Ali al-Alul, 55.
Maritime protestsOn Saturday, Gaza witnessed a naval demonstration with the participation of dozens of boats that tried to break the siege on the Strip.
The National Committee for Breaking Siege of Gaza explained that the flotilla represents a message to the Palestinian factions involved in the peace agreement negotiations that they will not agree to any solution that will not lead to the lifting of Gaza blockade.
