Palestinians watch on as rescuers search for victims under the rubble of a house which was destroyed following an Israeli air strike on Abasan, east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis and close to the border with Israel      AFP
 
Reuters/Berlin

Palestinian officials accused Israel on Thursday of stalling truce talks as a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza neared its end, saying they have not decided whether to extend it or resume fighting.
Egyptian mediators in Cairo were expected to meet with a Palestinian delegation later on Thursday to relay Israel's terms, with one Palestinian official saying the Israelis were "procrastinating."
Israel indicated on Wednesday it would be willing to extend the ceasefire, which expires at 0500 GMT on Friday.
But a Palestinian official in Cairo said the Israeli proposal amounted to just a ceasefire while refusing key Palestinian demands, which include an end to Gaza's blockade and the release of prisoners.
"The Israeli delegation is proposing extending the ceasefire while refusing a number of the Palestinian demands," said the official.
Another Palestinian official accused the delegation of "wanting to procrastinate and stall the negotiations."
In Gaza, devastated by the four-week conflict that killed 1,886 Palestinians according to medics, a Hamas spokesman said no decision had been reached on renewing the ceasefire.
"As of now there is no official stance on renewing the truce or resuming the fighting," said Fawzi Barhoum.
Another Palestinian official close to the talks in Cairo said the factions think the talks could fail and "they will resume fighting tomorrow."
Egypt, however, is exterting "tremendous pressure to achieve progress in the talks," said a Palestinian official in Cairo.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has urged Germany to help find a solution to the conflict in Gaza and send inspectors to Gaza's borders along with other European Union countries.
Mediators were working on Thursday to extend a truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, where half a million people have been displaced by a month of bloodshed. A three-day ceasefire was due to expire on Friday.
Lieberman told Thursday's mass-selling German daily Bild that Germany had a "very significant" role to play in preventing an economic and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where Israel and Egypt maintain tight restrictions on the movement of goods and people to try to prevent arms reaching Islamist militants.
He said Germany should bring together EU leaders to help find a lasting settlement for Gaza.
Lieberman said he was not suggesting the despatch of troops or police. "But Germany and the EU need to send inspectors to Gaza to control the trade the Palestinians conduct with neighbouring states."