Egypt renewed its call for a truce to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on Friday and France asked Qatar to use its influence with the Palestinian movement to reach a ceasefire, Reuters reported. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, speaking at a news conference in Cairo with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, urged all sides to engage in negotiations to end the bloodshed. Shukri said he had increased his efforts to convince the main players to accept an Egyptian ceasefire proposal. An earlier Cairo initiative was accepted by Israel but rejected by Hamas. "We hope that all sides will support this initiative so that bloodshed stops and this escalation does not get worse. We call on all sides to accept this proposal. We are working to find a framework so that both sides agree," Shukri said. Israel intensified its ground offensive in Gaza, a densely-populated enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians, with artillery, tanks and gunboats on Friday. The Israeli land advance followed 10 days of barrages against Gaza from air and sea. In total nearly 270 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and two Israelis have been killed. Fabius told Reuters that France had asked Qatar, which has close links with Hamas, to help to reach a ceasefire.
