Despite a tenuous start, a five day extension of a Gaza ceasefire is holding.  A 72 hour pause in fighting expired at midnight last night local time.  Before the extension of the truce was announced, Hamas fired eight rockets at Israel, prompting the Israeli military to attack a number of Hamas targets in Gaza. But the firing ended soon after.

The extension in the ceasefire gives hope that Israel-Hamas negotiations in Cairo could be successful.  Hamas members in the Palestinian delegation have expressed optimism that such a deal can in fact be reached.  The Israeli negotiators are not speaking publicly about what they see as the prospects for the talks.

The war began last month in the Gaza Strip when Israel retaliated against continuous Hamas rocket fire.