With the expiration of the latest five-day ceasefire in Gaza coming up at midnight on Monday, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have resumed indirect peace talks in Cairo.  Israel preempted any agreement with a unilateral goodwill gesture to the Palestinians of Gaza.

“As a sign of goodwill, Israel has allowed fishing off the Gaza Strip up to three nautical miles,” an Israeli government official said on condition of anonymity.  The Israeli Navy restricted fishing by Gaza fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea to 500 meters off shore, citing possible security alarms about attempts to deliver weapons by sea.

But Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would make no concessions on security.  That means the complete demilitarization of Gaza and stripping Hamas of its weapons, which the group opposes.  And Hamas is still demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory.

The Gaza conflict has killed nearly 2,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 64 Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians. 

Hundreds of homes have been destroyed.  Over the weekend, Qatar announced it would donate $1,000 to each Palestinian family whose house was destroyed during Operation Protective Edge.  But United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said Israeli air strikes caused a lot of damage to the UN’s infrastructure in Gaza.

“Damage to hospitals, schools and UNRWA shelters where people displaced sought refuge will take months to rebuild,” Amos said.