Palestinians walk past the rubble of houses destroyed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza City during the five-week long conflict. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images[/caption]Israeli delegation still pushing for demilitarisation of strip but hoping for extension to truce with Hamas, says military official
The five-day ceasefire betweenIsraeland Palestinian militants in the GazaStrip expires at midnight, with no firm indications that Egyptian mediators in Cairo have succeeded in securing a deal to end the five-week conflict.
The Israeli prime minister,Binyamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday that Hamasshould not expect to achieve a diplomatic victory out of the war, which has left almost 2,000 Palestinians many of them civilians 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians dead.
"From the first day, the Israeli delegation to Cairo has worked under clear instructions: insist on the security needs of the state of Israel. Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings," he said.
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