Israel-Hamas truce holding on second day

Calm still prevails in the Gaza Strip on the second day of a five-day extension to a truce between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel.

On Wednesday, the two sides agreed to extend the truce as they continued their indirect talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The ceasefire extension entered its second day on Friday.

The calm held throughout Thursday, after a flurry of Israeli airstrikes and retaliatory Hamas rocket attacks the previous night.

Egyptian mediators brokered the extension to allow for further negotiations on a long-term ceasefire to the fighting, which has killed 1,962 Palestinians since July 8.

An earlier truce collapsed in a firestorm of violence in early August.

Speaking at a news conference in Gaza City on Thursday, senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Haya said the movement was “not interested in confrontation,” but was forced into entering the war by Israeli aggression.