Israel and the Palestinians yesterday agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza starting at 2100 GMT (3am Bangladesh time), officials from the warring sides said.
“Israel has accepted Egypt’s proposal,” a senior Israeli government official said, adding Israeli negotiators would return to Cairo today to resume indirect talks with the Palestinians if the truce held.
The Israeli team had flown home on Friday before a previous three-day truce expired and hostilities in the month-old conflict broke out again.
A Hamas official said Palestinian factions had accepted Egypt’s call and that the Cairo talks would continue.
In a statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry urged “both sides to exploit this truce to resume indirect negotiations immediately and work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel will not negotiate under fire” and warned of a protracted Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip if rocket salvoes continued.
Hamas has demanded an end to Israeli and Egyptian blockades of the coastal territory and the opening of a Gaza seaport - a project Israel says should be dealt with only in any future talks on a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians.