Smoke and flames are seen above buildings, amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, in Gaza, May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Israel and Hamas will cease fire across the Gaza Strip border as of 2 am on Friday, an official with the Palestinian faction said, bringing a potentially tenuous halt to the fiercest fighting in decades.
Israel's security cabinet said it had voted unanimously in favour of a "mutual and unconditional" Gaza truce proposed by mediator Egypt, but added that the hour of implementation had yet to be agreed.
The development came a day after US President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek de-escalation, and amid mediation bids by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
A Hamas official said the ceasefire would be "mutual and simultaneous". Rocket attacks by Hamas and allied Islamic Jihad had resumed after an eight-hour pause yesterday, as Israel continued shelling that it said aimed to destroy the factions' military capabilities.
Since the fighting began on May 10, health officials in Gaza say 232 Palestinians, including 65 children and 39 women, have been killed and more than 1,900 wounded in aerial bombardments. Authorities put the death toll in Israel at 12. S
