Israel and Palestinian groups including Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour humanitar

ian truce in Gaza, officials and Egyptian mediators say.

The ceasefire will start at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
On Monday Israel held its own seven-hour "humanitarian window" in Gaza but then
resumed its military operations.
Health officials in Gaza say more than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed in th
e four-week conflict, which has also claimed 67 Israeli lives.
A Thai national working in Israel was also killed.
'Without preconditions'

There have been several truces called during the conflict but few have lasted, w
ith each side accusing the other of violations.
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There were chaotic scenes at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City after an air str
ike on Monday morning, as Orla Guerin reports
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James Reynolds reports from Jerusalem after Israeli police shoot a man who alleg
edly attacked a bus with a stolen digger
The latest was discussed on Monday by various Palestinian groups in Cairo, altho
ugh Israel did not attend.
However, a senior Israeli official later told the BBC: "Israel will accept the d
raft of the Egyptian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire, without preconditi
ons and for 72 hours."
Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, which controls Gaza, told Reuters news ag
ency: "Hamas told Egypt a short while ago of its acceptance of a 72-hour period
of calm."
A senior Egyptian official told AFP news agency: "Egypt's contacts with relevant
parties have achieved a commitment for a 72-hour truce in Gaza."