Israel declares 7 hour ceasefire

Coordinator of the Israeli government's activities in the Palestinian territories Yoav Mordechai said in a statement that the ceasefire will be effective on Monday between 10am local time (07:00 GMT) and 5pm (14:00 GMT). The Israeli Defense Ministry, however, said the ceasefire would not apply to eastern Rafah in the south. "If the truce will be violated, the army will respond with fire toward the source of the fire," it said in a statement. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the move was "unilateral and aims to divert attention away from [Israeli] massacres" in Gaza. "We don't trust it," he added in a statement. He also called on Gazans to exercise the "utmost caution and vigilance and not to trust the Israeli occupation [forces]." Israel has been pounding the blockaded Gaza Strip – home to 1.8 million people – since July 7, leaving at least 1821 Palestinians dead and around 9420 others injured. Most of the victims were civilians. Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks. At least 64 Israeli soldiers have also been killed in battles with Palestinian fighters and three civilians in rocket attacks.