Negotiators in Cairo addressed the thorny issue of the Israeli Gaza blockade on Tuesday night, as the second day of a 72-hour truce neared its end. As Gaza's residents ventured out to try to piece together their battered lives, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held a second round of indirect talks aimed at finding a durable end to the five-week confrontation.
A senior Israeli official told AFP there was still a long way to go to agree an end to the conflict, which erupted on July 8 when Israel launched military operations to halt cross-border rocket fire from Gaza. "The negotiations are difficult and gruelling," a Palestinian official said of Monday's opening talks, which lasted almost 10 hours and which were described as "serious." But he said Tuesday's meetings would be "the most important," saying they would tackle core issues such as Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza, which the Palestinians want lifted. Tuesday's talks, which opened during the afternoon, were still going on late into the night.