Gilad Shalit

Israel is pushing ahead with a project to build a giant underground wall around the Gaza Strip to block tunnels that could be used for attacks, the army said on Aug. 10.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has announced an investigation into an "infrastructure for transferring funds via couriers between Hamas command centers in Turkey and the Gaza Strip and the Hamas command center in Hebron."

Israel said on August 17 it was not engaged in talks with Hamas following a flurry of media reports suggesting the two sides were discussing a long-term ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas share common interests, and the Palestinian Islamists must stay in power in the Gaza Strip to prevent the enclave descending into chaos, an Israeli general was quoted as saying on May 12.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is visiting Qatar to meet Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Muhammad al-Atiyah, in a bid to push forward a truce plan outlining a week-long humanitarian cease-fire and seek terms for a durable truce.

Turkey and Qatar are forging a plan to produce a truce between Palestinian groups and Israel to end 10 days of violence in Gaza amid additional efforts from Cairo.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his country and Hamas “have agreed on a cease-fire” that would begin on July 18, but Hamas denied the report.

Israel approved the Egyptian-proposed Gaza truce on July 15, minutes before it was to come into effect at 6 a.m. GMT, Israeli officials said.

They said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet had convened to vote on the deal at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv.