A senior Hamas leader and Israel’s Security Cabinet have confirmed that a mutual ceasefire agreement has been reached.
The senior Hamas leader said the ceasefire will commence at 2am local time on Friday though an official announcement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Officer said it would go into effect at an hour to be agreed upon later.
The decision comes after more than a week of conflict left hundreds of people dead, the vast majority of them Palestinians.
According to a statement by the the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, the truce was put forward by Egypt for a mutual unconditional ceasefire over Gaza.
The statement makes clear that the Israel Defense Forces will be instructed to re-start its campaign against militant groups in Gaza if militant groups fail to keep their side of the agreement.
Egypt plans to send security delegations to Israel and the Palestinian territories in an effort to help uphold the ceasefire.
