Israel agrees to 24-hour Gaza ceasefire

Israel has accepted a UN request for a 24-hour ceasefire in Gaza, but warns the army will act if the pause is breached by Palestinian militants.


A crisis cabinet meeting extended Saturday’s truce until midnight on Sunday (21:00 GMT).

The move comes despite Hamas militants firing rockets after they rejected an earlier attempt to prolong the truce.

Hamas said it would not accept a truce unless Israeli troops left Gaza and the displaced were allowed to return home.

Israel said that it would continue operations against tunnels used by Hamas during the truce period.

Hamas has accused Israel of using previous ceasefires to prepare more attacks, and claimed that there had been truce violations during Saturday.

The Israeli military said a soldier was killed by a mortar shell fired from Gaza early on Sunday morning, bringing the death toll among its armed forces to 43. Two Israeli civilians and a Thai farm labourer working in Israel have also been killed in recent hostilities.

The health ministry in Gaza says 1,033 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and about 5,900 wounded since Israel launched its Gaza offensive 19 days ago.

BBC