Egypt summons Israeli ambassador over Gaza op
Ambassador Shlomo Cohen called to Egyptian Foreign Ministry following reports suggesting Israel may expand military op in Strip as means to pressure Cairo to crack down on arms smuggling tunnels
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Cairo to demand that Israel comply with the UN Security Council Resolution 1860 on the Gaza offensive.
Ambassador Shlomo Cohen was also questioned on information published by the Israeli press suggesting Israel intended to expand the operation, in order to pressure Egypt to increase its crackdown on smuggling tunnels linking its territory to the Palestinian territory, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossam Zaki.
"Such remarks are baseless… The Israeli military actions are linked solely to the situation in Gaza," said Cohen, is a press release.
Despite the UN's Thursday resolution calling for a ceasefire, Israel has decided to continue its offensive while the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said it was not "concerned" by the text.
Meanwhile, Egypt's state-owned news agency reports progress in talks with a Hamas delegation on an end to fighting in Gaza.
The Middle East News Agency has quoted an unnamed Egyptian official as saying talks Sunday between the nation's powerful intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and a Hamas delegation were "positive."
It said the Hamas delegation agreed on the need to stop fighting as soon as possible. Two of Hamas' Syria-based leaders and three officials from Gaza participated in the talks.
MENA says the talks will resume Monday for a ceasefire agreement.
AP contributed to this report
