Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to a new five-day ceasefire, agreed to just as the previous 72-hour truce was expiring.  It started out pretty rough – Israel launch air strikes in retaliation for alleged rocket fire from Gaza.  But after this initial doubt, there was no further violence overnight.

Both sides seemed to take it well.  As usual, none of the rockets from Gaza hit anything.  Hamas denied responsibility and suggested it might have been the work of militants outside its control.  Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said on social media, “No need to jump to conclusions. I don't know who launched 10pm (19:00GMT) rocket at Israel.”

The five-day ceasefire will give both sides more room to find a lasting solution to the tensions in Gaza in talks going on in Cairo.  An Egyptian proposal addresses a major Palestinian demand for a lifting of the Israeli and Egyptian blockades of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says is a prerequisite to achieving a “permanent calm”.  The Cairo proposal also gradually expands the area of the Mediterranean Sea where Israel allows the Palestinians to fish.

Both Israel and Egypt will be extremely cautious about lifting the blockade, as both deeply distrust Hamas, the dominant political entity in Gaza.  Israel wants Gaza demilitarized, not just disarmed. 

The Gaza hostilities have killed 1,945 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and 67 on the Israeli side.  Most of the Palestinian dead have been civilians.  The Israeli dead are 64 soldiers and three civilians.