On Tuesday, Israeli officials ordered the military to respond to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which came during an agreed upon truce. A military spokeswoman said the three rockets landed in open areas near the city of Beersheba; there were no reports of casualties.

Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to strike "terror targets" in the Gaza Strip.

Before the attacks, Egyptian mediators were shuttling between the Palestinian and Israeli delegations, located in separate rooms at peace negotiations in Cairo. The negotiations were extended at the 11th hour on Monday.

Major sticking points remain in the indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials toward a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, hours before a truce extension expires at midnight local time (2100 UTC). The Egyptian officials mediating the talks have pushed both sides to put a decisive end to weeks of bloodshed in Gaza, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians.

Israel launched its offensive on Gaza on July 8, calling it a bit to stop rocket attacks by Hamas and allied militants. The Palestinian Health Ministry has put the death toll in this summer's Israeli offensive on the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip at 2,016, mostly civilians. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting, and three civilians died after militants fired rockets from Gaza.

Easing the blockade

Officials aim to broker a long-term arrangement to halt more than a month of fighting, although both sides have largely silenced their guns since August 4 thanks to a series of temporary truces such as the one extended Monday night.

Palestinian officials say that the refusal of Israeli negotiators to discuss allowing access to sea- and airports for the blockaded enclave of Gaza has dragged out the talks. Israeli officials have repeatedly demanded the complete demilitarization of Gaza.

Egypt's proposal calls for an immediate and permanent cease fire, and includes provisions relating to opening the borders to allow for movement of people, goods and construction materials. Another clause seeks to regulate the Israeli blockade's long-term economic impacts within Gaza. It postpones, however, discussions on the sea- and airports, for another month - "after calm and stability returns" - along with talks over exchanging the remains of two Israeli soldiers for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

mkg/msh (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)