Hostilities continue in Gaza

The violence between Israel and militants continued on Saturday, a day after a 72-hour ceasefire expired.

Israeli military officials said they had struck more than 30 targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, while militants operating out of the coastal territory fired at least 28 rockets. Palestinian officials said at least five Gazans had been killed as a result of airstrikes on Saturday, while Israeli officials said the rockets fired into the south of the country had caused no major damage or injuries.

This came as there appeared to be little chance of meaningful Egypt-brokered negotiations towards a ceasefire resuming anytime soon.

On Saturday, news agencies quoted Israeli officials as saying they would not be sending a delegation back to the truce talks in Cairo until militant rocket fire stopped.

'At a crossroads'

The two sides appeared to be at an impasse over some of the Palestinians' key demands. Israel has rejected demands by Hamas that it lift a seven-year blockade on Gaza.

"We are at a crossroads, and within two or three days we will see whether we are heading left toward an agreement, or right, toward escalation," Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Saturday.

The international community, though, sought to keep up the pressure on the two sides to agree a truce.

International appeals for an immediate truce

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain issued a joint statement on Saturday, calling on Israel and Hamas to agree to hold their fire, as a matter of urgency.

"We call upon all parties immediately to return to a ceasefire," Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier, France's Laurent Fabius and Britain's Philip Hammond said. "We fully support the ongoing efforts by Egypt to this end."

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron also called for a truce.

"On Gaza, they condemned the resumption of rocket fire and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities leading to a sustainable ceasefire," the White House announced in a statement.

About 1,900 people, roughly 75 percent of them civilians, have died since July 8, when Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip. Rocket fire into Israel has killed three civilians, and 64 soldiers died in the ground invasion of Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli police banned an anti-war protest planned for Tel Aviv on Saturday, saying large gatherings of people were currently prohibited due to security concerns.

mkg/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)