Thursday, July 17, 2014

Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal 'reached'

A comprehensive ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Gaza, an Israeli official has told the BBC.
The ceasefire is due to take effect on Friday at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT).
Earlier, Palestinian militants fired three mortars from Gaza at Israel during a brief humanitarian ceasefire, Israeli security forces say.
Some 227 Palestinians have died since the current crisis began on 8 July. Militant rockets have killed one Israeli.
Israel launched its military operation on 8 July with the stated objective of halting Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.
However, the United Nations says most of those killed in Gaza have been civilians.
Israel accuses Hamas of hiding its military infrastructure within the civilian population.
Emergency relief
Hamas and Israel had agreed to halt fighting for five hours on Thursday to allow Gazans to stock up on supplies.
As Palestinian militants reportedly fired mortars during the truce, Hamas TV accused Israel of firing mortar shells near eastern Rafah in south Gaza.
"While the IDF holds its fire, three mortars fired from Gaza just hit the Eshkol regional council," the Israeli military said on Thursday, two hours after the ceasefire came into effect at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
Thursday's brief ceasefire, due to last until 15:00 local time, was requested by the UN and other international organisations.
The UN's relief operation in Gaza said it would use the temporary truce to step up emergency work in the Palestinian territory. Spokesman Chris Gunness said providing water, food and hygiene kits was the main priority.

Correspondents said Gazans were queuing outside banks, and traffic was building up as residents rushed to stock up on supplies.

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