Israel not to negotiate under fire: Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday said Israel will abstain from the Gaza ceasefire negotiating table in Cairo as long as there is rocket firing from Gaza.

"Israel will not negotiate under fire," Xinhua quoted Netanyahu as saying at the beginning of his weekly cabinet meet held at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv.

"At no stage did we declare (the Gaza offensive) was over," he said. "The operation will continue until its objective -- to restore quiet for a prolonged period -- is achieved. I said at the beginning and throughout the operation, it will take time, and stamina is required."

The negotiations in Cairo are on the brink of collapse, after Hamas rocket fire and the Israeli shelling resumed Friday as a 72-hour truce expired. The Palestinian delegation has threatened to leave Cairo unless Israel will return to the negotiations without conditions.

Israel says it embarked on a military offensive in Gaza to curb rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave.

So far, the death toll in Gaza has mounted to 1,914, including 449 children and 243 women, while Israel has seen the death of 64 soldiers and three civilians.