Israel agrees Gaza ceasefire
The Israeli Cabinet has accepted an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire to end a week of conflict with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip that has killed 185 Palestinians and exposed millions of Israelis to Hamas rocket fire.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Cabinet met this morning and accepted the proposal, which went into effect at 9am local time.
It calls for a ceasefire to begin within 12 hours of “unconditional acceptance” by the sides, followed by the opening of Gaza’s border crossings and talks in Cairo within two days.
Hamas has acknowledged “diplomatic movement” on ending the conflict without yet formally accepting the proposal.
Israel launched the offensive last Tuesday, saying it was responding to weeks of rocket fire out of the Hamas-ruled territory.
