Egyptian officials have claimed that they successfully brokered a new ceasefire, aimed at ending a week of Israeli attacks and retaliation from Gaza militants, according to media outlets familiar with the situation.
The report was quickly disavowed, however, by both Israel and the Gaza militant group they are currently fighting, Islamic Jihad, which each claim they had “no knowledge” that such a deal had been reached.
As Israel doesn’t have direct links with most Gaza factions, they usually rely on Egypt to negotiate the ceasefires after their fighting. It seems pretty clear that the Mursi government would want to show their capability of continuing this tradition.
The latest round of strikes began last Sunday, when Israeli warplanes targeted a motorcycle but hit a number of schoolchildren. Militants responded the following day, hitting a petting zoo and killing a goat.