The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has lifted a ban on U.S. airlines flying in and out of Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, while continued fighting pushed the Palestinian death toll over 700.
A truce remained elusive despite intensive mediation efforts. Israel said it needs more time to eradicate rocket stocks and cross-border tunnels in the Gaza Strip and Hamas Islamists demand the blockade on the enclave be lifted.
An Egyptian official said on Wednesday that a more limited humanitarian cease-fire may go into effect by the weekend, in time for the Eid al-Fitr festival, Islam's biggest annual celebration that follows the fasting month of Ramadan.
But the United States, whose Secretary of State John Kerry is spearheading the indirect negotiations, was more circumspect.
“It would not be accurate to say that we expect a cease-fire by the weekend,” said a senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We are continuing to work on it, but it is not set at this point.”
The FAA said late Wednesday it canceled the restrictions after looking at new information and steps Israel is taking to lessen the risks to passenger planes.
The flight ban went into place Tuesday after rocket fire from Gaza hit near the airport outside Tel Aviv.
An FAA statement said it will continue to monitor what it calls a "very fluid situation" around the airport and will take additional actions if necessary.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf acknowledged Wednesday that Hamas has rockets that could reach Ben Gurion airport, but the accuracy of those weapons is limited.
Israel predicted take-offs and landings by U.S. carriers would resume on Thursday though European airlines might take longer to follow suit.
“The Europeans did not really deliberate over this, but acted more as a follow-up to the American decision,” said Gadi Regev, chief of staff for Israel's Civil Aviation Authority.
The death toll in Gaza rose above 700 on Thursday as Israeli tank fire before dawn killed 16 people in the Hamas-dominated coastal territory, including six members of the same family, Palestinian health officials said.
Israel has lost 32 soldiers to clashes inside Gaza and with Hamas raiders who have slipped across the fortified frontier in tunnels.
Rocket and mortar shelling by Hamas and other Palestinian guerrillas has killed three civilians in Israel.
Such shelling surged last month as Israel cracked down on Hamas in the occupied West Bank, triggering the July 8 air and sea barrage in Gaza that escalated into an invasion a week ago.
Though Israel's Iron Dome rocket interceptor has shot down most of the rockets fired from Gaza, one that came close to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday prompted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to bar American flights there.
The ensuing wave of cancelations by foreign airlines emptied Israel's usually bustling international gateway and hurt its hi-tech economy at the height of summer tourist season. It was hailed as a “victory” by Hamas, and prompted an appeal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Kerry to intervene.
In what appeared to be a let-up in Palestinian attacks, the Israeli military said on Thursday only one rocket had been launched from Gaza overnight. It fell wide, causing no damage.
Israel's security cabinet met late into the night on a proposed humanitarian truce under which fighting would cease immediately, but negotiations for terms for an extended deal would begin only in several days' time.
The cabinet's Science Minister Yaakov Peri Gaza said on Thursday a truce involving a withdrawal of Israeli ground forces from the Palestinian territory would be unlikely before next week.
“I do not see a ceasefire in the coming days where the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) leave,” Peri, a former security chief, told the Walla news site, adding that troops needed more time to complete their mission of destroying cross-border tunnels used by Gaza guerrillas.
“I can say authoritatively that two or three days will not be enough to finish tackling the tunnels," Peri said.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said his fighters had made gains against Israel and voiced support for a humanitarian truce, but only if Israel eased restrictions on Gaza's 1.8 million Palestinians, who are also under an embargo by next-door Egypt.
“Let's agree first on the demands and on implementing them and then we can agree on the zero hour for a ceasefire. ... We will not accept any proposal that does not lift the blockade. ... We do not desire war and we do not want it to continue but we will not be broken by it,” Meshaal said on Wednesday in Qatar.