RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Now, to news on the fighting in Gaza. Three weeks after the shooting began the possibility of a ceasefire seems to be gaining momentum. The Israelis made a big push in Gaza City yesterday, but said their offensive could be, quote, "in the final act." Israel's foreign minister is on her way to Washington. She wants help in preventing Hamas from rearming. Another Israeli negotiator is shuttling between Cairo and Jerusalem. The question now is, how long will it take to work out the details? NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Cairo.
PETER KENYON: Residents of Gaza reported that dawn broke to a period of comparative quiet, although the Israeli military put that in perspective when it reported that it had struck some 40 targets overnight. The military spokesperson also said Palestinian rocket fire was down significantly today. The Israeli military announced a targeted killing yesterday of the most senior Hamas official hit to date, the interior minister, Said Siam. Siam was the head of Hamas' security forces inside Gaza. Last year, they routed their counterparts from the secular Fatah movement, giving Hamas full control of the Gaza Strip.
The most controversial attack of the day was the Israeli shelling of a United Nations compound that sent huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the air for several hours afterward. Witnesses said tons of aid supplies, including badly needed food and fuel, were destroyed in the attack. Israel contended its forces were responding to enemy fire, but UN relief officials angrily denied there was any militant hostile activity from within the compound. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at a news conference in Tel Aviv, condemned the Israeli attack.
(Soundbite of news conference)
Secretary-General BAN KI-MOON (United Nations): I conveyed my strong protest and outrage to the defense minister and the foreign minister and demanded a full explanation.
KENYON: Ban is on a regional tour trying to secure a ceasefire, and he suggested that the Israeli government could make an important decision on a halt to violence in the coming days. In her public comments, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni offered no hint as to when the military operation might cease. Even as the estimated Palestinian toll rose above 1100 killed and 5,000 wounded, Livni stuck with the official Israeli line that it's the Palestinian militants, not the Israelis, who are the aggressors.
Minister TZIPI LIVNI (Foreign Minister, Israel): And Hamas, for the first time, understands that Israel is not going to live any more in a region in which the bullies controls the flames. According to our daily assessment, we'll decide when this is going to end.
Unidentified Reporter: Will it be soon?
KENYON: Hours later, Livni was dispatched to Washington to promote an agreement on U.S. assistance in preventing arms smuggling via tunnels from Egypt into Gaza. The immediate hope is for a short-term end to the violence, followed by a withdrawal of Israeli forces in conjunction with a longer-term truce, lasting several months to a year, although the length of any ceasefire remains in contention. As with past negotiations, suspicions abound. Israel isn't convinced that Egypt or anyone else is prepared to do what it takes to close down the smuggling tunnels, and that means Hamas will inevitably rearm. For their part, the Palestinians have no confidence that Israel will abide by any commitments to open Gaza's borders. They fear Israel will continue to use its control of Gaza's food, fuel, water and electricity supplies as a weapon. But with global revulsion growing at the images of dead and wounded civilians coming out of Gaza, analysts suggest that even an imperfect peace is looking like a good alternative. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.
(Soundbite of music)
MONTAGNE: This is Morning Edition from NPR News.