Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit announced Egypt would not be announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Thursday as was expected. The senior Egyptian official explained that efforts towards reaching an agreement continue and he remains hopeful that the announcement will be forthcoming in the coming days.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, based in Gaza, reportedly rejected a draft agreement that Hamas Gaza was leaning towards accepting. In the meantime, Hamas continues to release contradictory statements regarding efforts t o tie a ceasefire agreement to the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)