Hamas rejects Gaza ceasefire extension - PHOTO

It said that Israel had failed to meet its demands. Key among these is the re-opening of Gaza Harbour to shipping.Two rockets fired from Gaza hit southern Israel three hours before the three-day ceasefire expired, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.The IDF accused "terrorists" of violating the ceasefire.The rockets fell on open ground and caused no casualties, the army said early on Friday.A Hamas military wing spokesman earlier called on Palestinian negotiators holding indirect talks with Israeli neogtiators in Cairo to refuse any ceasefire extension unless its long-term demands were met.The spokesman said his organisation was ready for "a long war".Israeli officials said earlier that they were willing to extend the ceasefire before it expired at 05:00 GMT on Friday.But Hamas, which controls Gaza, says there was a big gap between the sides' positions.Four weeks of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and militants in Gaza claimed more than 1,900 lives.'Stabilise'Egyptian officials, who brokered the 72-hour ceasefire that began on Tuesday, were working against the clock on Thursday to persuade both sides to agree a long-term deal."Egypt's aims are to stabilise and extend the truce with the agreement of both sides and to begin negotiations towards a permanent agreement to cease fire and ease border restrictions," an Egyptian official told Reuters news agency.On Wednesday, Israeli officials said they had expressed their readiness to "extend the truce under its current terms". But the deputy political leader of Hamas, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said: "There is no agreement."Hamas had been reiterating its calls for the lifting of the blockade of Gaza, the release of prisoners and the end of the Israeli offensive.The Israelis, for their part, were sticking firm to their main demand - the demilitarisation of Gaza. But the BBC's Sally Nabil in Cairo says that this was met with a big "no" from all the Palestinian factions.Israeli Communications Minister Gilad Erdan warned that the military would resume operations if the ceasefire was disrupted.Palestinian officials say at least 1,875 people have been killed since Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 8 July with the aim of halting rocket fire from militants in Gaza and destroying the network of tunnels it said were used by militants to launch attacks inside Israel.The UN says 1,354 of those who died were civilians, including 415 children and 214 women.Israel's government says 64 soldiers were killed, along with two Israeli civilians and a Thai national. It also claims that about 900 Palestinian militants were killed in the fighting.On Thursday, the human rights group Amnesty International called for an investigation into what it said was mounting evidence that Israeli forces had deliberately attacked hospitals and health professionals in Gaza. The attacks have left at least six medics dead.(BBC)Bakudaily.Az