August 1, 2014.

Gaza Truce in Tatters as Hamas, Israelis Clash

Chapter 4

He was much better. He was growing fatter and stronger every day, if it was proper to speak of days.

A cease-fire meant to last three days and lead to talks on a lasting peace in the Gaza Strip collapsed Friday as heavy fighting erupted between Israeli forces and Hamas.

The white light and the humming sound were the same as ever, but the cell was a little more comfortable than the others he had been in. There was a pillow and a mattress on the plank bed, and a stool to sit on. They had given him a bath, and they allowed him to wash himself fairly frequently in a tin basin. They even gave him warm water to wash with. They had given him new underclothes and a clean suit of overalls. They had dressed his varicose ulcer with soothing ointment. They had pulled out the remnants of his teeth and given him a new set of dentures.

The Israeli military said a suicide bomber blew himself up as its forces were trying to plug up Hamas tunnels near the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and an Israeli soldier was missing and may have been captured during the ensuing clash.

Weeks or months must have passed. It would have been possible now to keep count of the passage of time, if he had felt any interest in doing so, since he was being fed at what appeared to be regular intervals. He was getting, he judged, three meals in the twenty-four hours; sometimes he wondered dimly whether he was getting them by night or by day. The food was surprisingly good, with meat at every third meal. Once there was even a packet of cigarettes. He had no matches, but the never-speaking guard who brought his food would give him a light. The first time he tried to smoke it made him sick, but he persevered, and spun the packet out for a long time, smoking half a cigarette after each meal.

Gaza's Health Ministry said Israeli tank fire killed four Palestinians in the fighting, the Associated Press reported.