Mediators step up diplomacy after Gaza truce shaken

Reuters:

CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Oct 20 – Israeli fire killed three people near a ceasefire line in Gaza on Monday, medics said, with U.S. envoys expected in Israel to try to push forward the fragile truce that faced its gravest test so far over the weekend.

A Palestinian official close to ceasefire talks said efforts by Arab mediators and the United States would be stepped up on Monday, after helping restore calm in the enclave following a day of intense bombardment that killed at least 28 people.

Israel said it launched the strikes across the enclave on Sunday in response to a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers who were operating within the agreed deployment line in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in what it described as a blatant violation by Hamas of the truce.