Four-day truce in Israel-Hamas conflict is important first step

A four-day truce is an important first step in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but much more is needed to find a way out of the crisis, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.
Borrell said he regretted that Israel had not attended a Forum for the Union of the Mediterranean on Monday in Barcelona. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will address the meeting as representatives of a group of ministers from the Arab League and
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Borrell said he hoped a four-day truce agreed last week would last “a few more days”.
The truce is the first halt in fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages back into Gaza.
In response to that attack, Israel has bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. Some 14,800 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza health authorities say, and hundreds of thousands displaced.