Israeli fire kills four Palestinians in Gaza amid new ceasefire talks

CAIRO - An Israeli air strike killed four Palestinians in Gaza on March 11, the territory’s civil emergency service said, as Arab mediators and the US tried to hammer out differences between Hamas and Israel over a Jan 19 ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli military said its air force attacked “terrorists who were engaged in a suspicious activity on the ground in central Gaza and posed a threat to the force”.

At the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, relatives of the dead men arrived to bid farewell, sitting around the white-shrouded bodies.

Medics and relatives said the four dead, who included two brothers, were civilians.

“Did we end the war or what happened? We don’t know,” said Mr Arafat Al-Hana, the father of one of the victims.

Israel sent a delegation to the Qatari capital, Doha, for more ceasefire talks, and Hamas leaders ended a round of talks in Cairo earlier this week.

But there has been no sign of a breakthrough to resolve the disputes that threaten a return to armed conflict.

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since Jan 19 under a first phase of the truce, and Hamas has exchanged 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Hamas wants to begin talks on a second phase that was supposed to reach an agreement over Israel’s full pull-out from the enclave.

Israel demands that Hamas free the remaining hostages without beginning phase two negotiations.

On March 11, Hamas accused Israel of trying to cause famine in Gaza by continuing to suspend the entry of aid, and also by its decision to sever its last working line of electricity to the enclave, a move that impacted a water desalination and sewage treatment facility.

“We call on mediators to pressure the occupation to abide by