The story

A truce meant to allow humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza crumbled minutes after it began Wednesday, while Israeli and Palestinian diplomats considered talks that could lead to a more lasting cease-fire.

The truce was part of Israel's stated desire to open a "humanitarian corridor" into Gaza in response to mounting concerns over shortages of food, water and medicine in the territory since Israeli airstrikes began December 27.

But minutes after the three-hour truce was set to begin at 1 p.m., Israeli forces fired at militants in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.

The strikes came after militants targeted Israeli forces "almost immediately," Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Peter Lerner said.

Lerner had previously said Israeli forces would respond to any aggression directed at them during the scheduled pause in activities in Gaza. Read full article »

CNN's Shira Medding and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

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