Gaza ceasefire efforts stepped up

ISRAEL has put plans for a ground operation in Gaza “on hold” to give talks to secure a truce with Hamas militants a chance, officials say.It is understood Israel has set a Thursday deadline for the Egypt-brokered talks to succeed. The current conflict began last Wednesday when Israel killed Hamas’s military commander, saying it wanted to end rocket attacks on Israel.More than 110 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed so far.Israeli ministers met late into the night to discuss Egyptian truce proposals, as officials are due to restart talks in Cairo.Israeli troops are massed along the border, raising fears of a ground offensive similar to that of 2008-09.However, Israeli officials say that any possible ground invasion of Gaza has been put on hold while the ceasefire talks continue.A spokesman told the BBC that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had telephoned US President Barack Obama. “Israel wants talks to succeed but we’re prepared to go into Gaza,” the spokesman said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due in Israel for crisis talks. Mrs Clinton was to underline that “the best way to solve this is through diplomacy, so that you have a peaceful settlement that ends that rocket fire and allows for a broader calm in the region”, said Mr Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is debating a statement calling on both parties to stop attacks and address humanitarian needs in Gaza.More explosions are being reported in Gaza - after a night during which the Israeli military said it had carried out about 100 strikes mainly on smuggling tunnels and underground rocket-launching facilities. Hamas officials say seven people were killed.A father and his two sons - thought to be two and four - were killed overnight, Hamas health ministry officials said.More than 60 rockets have been fired from Gaza toward Israel so far on Tuesday - some managed to get through Israel’s Iron Dome interception system, Israeli officials said.One landed on a parked bus in Beersheba and a house in Ofakim. Later a soldier was “moderately wounded” from shrapnel in Eshkol, southern Israel, the army said.Regional risk UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Arab League Chief Nabil al-Arabi in Cairo on Tuesday. “I’m here to appeal personally for an end to the violence and to offer my ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire. I’m also here to offer my heartfelt condolences to many civilians, especially to families of victims who were killed,” Mr Ban told a joint news conference.He is due to travel to Israel later on Tuesday. Mr Ban warned against a ground operation in Gaza. “Further escalating the situation will put the entire region at risk,” he said.Egypt has been trying to broker a ceasefire with the help of Qatar and Turkey.