A ceasefire deal has been reached to end fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, an Israeli official has told the BBC. He said it was due to take effect on Friday at 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT). Hamas, which controls Gaza, has denied a deal has been reached at talks in Egypt, but that efforts are continuing. Some 227 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes since the current crisis began on 8 July. One Israeli has been killed by mortar fire from Gaza. Israel launched its military operation in Gaza nine days ago 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 Egypt has been mediating in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Egyptian foreign ministry has so far made no statement regarding the purported ceasefire agreement. Reports say that the deal was agreed by Israeli negotiators at the talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, but that it has not yet been approved by the Israeli cabinet. Thursday’s five-hour truce was requested by the UN and other international organisations to provide emergency relief and distribute water, food and hygiene kits. Hamas and Israel had agreed to halt fighting between 10:00 and 15:00 local time to allow Gazans to stock up on supplies. Correspondents said Gazans were queuing outside banks and there were traffic jams as residents rushed to stock up on supplies. But two hours after the truce started, the Israeli military said that “Gazan terrorists” had fired mortars at the Eshkol regional council. Israel responded with mortar fire, which, according to Hamas TV, hit near eastern Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. — BBC online
