GAZA CITY (AFP) — A Hamas delegation is to visit Egypt on Tuesday for talks on a fragile two-week-old truce deal with Israel in and around the Gaza Strip, the Islamist movement said on Monday.
"On this visit, the delegation will look at a number of issues, including the truce, the extent of Israeli compliance with it and the violations we have registered on its part," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told reporters.
Since the Egyptian-brokered agreement came into effect Palestinian militants have fired a number of rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel, although the overall level of violence in and around Gaza has dropped substantially.
Palestinian and UN officials have meanwhile accused Israeli troops of firing into Gaza, although the army says it has fired only warning shots at people approaching the border fence.
On Monday, a mortar round launched from northern Gaza struck inside Israeli territory near the Karni border crossing, the Israeli army said.
Hamas insists its fighters are adhering to the truce and says it is doing its best to crack down on individuals and smaller armed groups who violate it.
The truce was also supposed to lead to an easing of a year-old Israeli blockade of Gaza imposed after Hamas seized power in June 2007, but Israel has temporarily re-sealed the territory after each rocket attack.
The Hamas delegation will also discuss reopening the Rafah crossing with Egypt -- Gaza's only one that bypasses Israel -- and prisoner swap negotiations for an Israeli soldier captured by Gaza militants in June 2006.
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