Last day: Will agreement be reached with Hamas in Cairo?

Tomorrow (Monday) at midnight the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, expires. It is unclear if the silence will continue and people of the South will be able to return to routine.

A short while ago another round of talks began in Cairo, probably in a final attempt to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Talks are expected to continue until Monday night, when the old ceasefire of five days on which the parties agreed on Wednesday night, will end.

Egyptian and Palestinian media reported that Egypt offered Israel and the Palestinians to declare a permanent ceasefire and to resume talks on a settlement between the parties in a month. According to the report, the negotiations will address all significant issues, including Hamas' demand for an airport and a seaport in the Gaza Strip and Israel's demand for the return of the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Deputy Sergeant Shaul Oron.

Osama Hamdan, responsible for Hamas' foreign relations, referred saying that "the battle is not yet over and will not be over until Israel complies with our demands. If Israel does not comply, it means that it is interested in a continued battle."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, said during a mass demonstration in Rafah for Hamas held today that "The Israelis will not be safe until our people will be safe and until they remove from us the blockade in full". He further said that "the Israelis will not return home until Hamas allows them, and not Netanyahu. Hamas is ready for all possibilities and the ball is in the Israeli court," he added. In addition, Abu Zuhri referred to the negotiations in Cairo, and said: "The priority is to reach an agreement, but the occupier should stop delays, we are looking for an agreement not out of weakness but from a position of strength."

Head of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Meshal, said in an interview to Al Jazeera that the organization will not give up its demands. "We want to open all crossings, we want our own port, airport, and our main demand - to end the occupation and the settlements."

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that for him there is no alternative to the Egyptian initiative to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. At the start of the Palestinian leadership meeting in Ramallah, Abbas said: "We adhere to the Egyptian initiative and will not agree that another party will take its place."

According to senior government officials, "in case the fire will not be renewed against Israel - we may enter a settlement without an agreement." They added: "There is a need for patience. The mission is not over and it can take more time. The more robust the standing of the public will be, so we can reach even greater achievements."

The IDF says that there is no intention to get into a war of attrition. Rockets from Gaza will be answered in that Hamas will absorb "a losing price". The IDF assumes that "anything can happen" and are preparing for the possibility that the ceasefire will not last. As of now, the army still has many troops around the Gaza Strip, with a number of training units, no forces were released from Gaza generally, except for refreshments. In the days since the IDF left the Gaza Strip, the soldiers and commanders went on vacations, tools were refreshed and returned to fitness.

The railway section between Sderot and Ashkelon was closed tonight following orders of the Ministry of Defense. "Depending on the situation of security assessment held in the evening, the defense minister ordered to stop rail line traffic between Ashkelon and Sderot, until further notice."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!