Military operations halted for 3 hr period

On 7 January 2009 Israel halted military operations in the Gaza Strip for a three-hour period from 1300-1600 local time to allow the delivery of food, medicine and other aid to the area. The pause will reportedly now take place on a daily basis, and the development comes amid increasing international pressure on Israel to implement a new ceasefire agreement and stop its military campaign in the Gaza Strip (especially in light of a 6 January strike targeting a U.N.-run school). Israel and the Palestinian Authority government of President Mahmoud Abbas have reportedly accepted a ceasefire proposal by France and Egypt, who have led the negotiation efforts for a truce. However, at this time a truce has not been implemented and it is not known if Hamas has accepted it. Israel’s recent rejections of a proposed truce have allowed it more time to accomplish its goals in the territory and have prevented Hamas from regrouping while the terms of an agreement were reached. Israel has stated that any ceasefire must stop Hamas from rebuilding its capabilities and prevent it from launching more rockets into Israel. Few details regarding a proposed truce have been released, but it likely addresses such issues as implementing an immediate ceasefire, opening the crossing points between Israel and Gaza, establishing some type of international observer team and some method to target smuggling operations to Gaza via Egypt. In the meantime, the Israeli military continues its operations in the Gaza Strip with the exception of the temporary pause. Hamas continues to launch rockets at Israel, but there are conflicting reports regarding whether Hamas will halt rocket attacks during the three-hour period. Protests both against Israel and in support of its actions continue to be reported in various locations worldwide.