Palestinians declare 24-hour ceasefire to allow aid into Gaza

GAZA, December 22 (RIA Novosti) - Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip unilaterally called a 24-hour ceasefire on Monday in order to let humanitarian aid into the enclave, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad Movement said.

"The Islamic Jihad Movement together with other forces of the Palestinian opposition has declared a 24-hour ceasefire to allow a convoy with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip," Abu Hamza said.

The Islamic Jihad Movement has claimed responsibility for most of the 50 rockets fired into Israel's southern regions over the last three days since a six-month ceasefire with Israel ended on Friday. The ceasefire was brokered by Egyptian mediators, and encompassed not only Hamas but also other Palestinian militant groups in the enclave.

Palestinians have been waiting five days for trucks from Egypt to enter the enclave via Israel, which refuses to open the Kerem Shalom border post into the Gaza Strip even for humanitarian aid because of Palestinian aggression.

On Thursday, Palestinian militants fired a combination of rockets and shells towards southern Israel, while Israeli planes fired rockets into the Gaza Strip, killing one person and injuring three others.

Israel had insisted the truce was indefinite and defense officials said on Thursday the airstrikes were a warning to Hamas.

An Israeli soldier gestures from atop a tank, near the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Monday, Dec. 22, 2008. Israeli diplomats have been instructed to highlight the plight of Israelis living under increasing rocket fire from Gaza, officials said Monday, in a step aimed at preparing world opinion for a stepped-up response, or even a ground invasion, by Israel's military.