[IsraelTimes] The Times of Israel is liveblogging events as they unfold through Wednesday, the 30th day since the start of Operation Protective Edge and the second day of a truce intended to lead to a long-term ceasefire. An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into force on Tuesday morning, and Hamas fired a salvo of rockets minutes before, and then fell quiet. Israeli military chiefs said they had delivered a "serious blow" to Hamas, including destroying all its known cross-border tunnels, and would restart military action if needed. IDF troops withdrew from Gaza, and Israeli and Palestinian delegations are in Cairo for indirect ceasefire talks.
| Hamas's friends are not pleased with their performance. At time marker 5:56: |
Iranian official: Hamas must do more to protect civilians
A high-ranking Iranian official criticizes Hamas for failing to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip during the conflict with Israel, saying the group should in future allow civilians to hide in its tunnels.
"They use the tunnels to launch missiles, but they should also use them to protect civilians," Mohsen Rezai, a member of the Iranian government and an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, tells Iran's Al-Alam news network. |