Gaza Talks To Continue As Truce Holds

British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin has been names as part of an investigative team probing alleged war crimes in Gaza.

A 72-hour Israel-Hamas truce is holding for a second day as indirect negotiations on a lasting cease-fire in Gaza Strip are due to resume in Cairo.

The Israeli military says neither Hamas rocket fire at Israel nor Israeli strikes in Gaza were registered overnight.

The two sides held indirect talks for nearly 10 hours on August 11.

An unnamed senior Israeli official said the "gaps between the sides were big."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet was scheduled to convene later on August 12 to discuss the Cairo talks.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has named a three-member panel to investigate alleged human rights violations and war crimes committed by both sides during Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

A UN statement on August 11 said William Schabas, a Canadian professor of international law, will head the team.

The other members are Doudou Diene, a Senegalese human rights expert, and Amal Alamuddin, a British-Lebanese lawyer who is engaged to Hollywood actor George Clooney.

The team is due to report to the UN Human Rights Council by March 2015.

Hamas welcomed the move. But Israel's Foreign Ministry dismissed the inquiry, saying the Human Rights Council had turned into the "terrorist rights council" and a "kangaroo court."

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has accused both Israel and the militant group of violating international humanitarian law.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP