Hamas accepts Egypt proposal for 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza

Palestinian resistance faction Hamas has announced its approval of an Egyptian proposal for a 72-hour ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip. “We officially notified Egypt of our approval of a proposal on a 72-hour ceasefire starting Tuesday morning,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement. Hamas stance came moments after the Israeli cabinet accepted the Egyptian proposal for the 72-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as of 05:00 GMT on Tuesday. "If the ceasefire lasts, there will not be a need for a continued IDF [army] presence within the Gaza Strip," a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying by Israeli daily Haaretz. In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on Israel and Palestinian factions to send delegations to Cairo for talks aimed at implementing an Egyptian initiative for a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israel has been pounding the blockaded Gaza Strip – home to 1.8 million people – since July 7. At least 1867 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and 9450 wounded in unrelenting Israeli attacks since then. The Israeli army has confirmed that 64 troops had been killed and 400 others injured in the ongoing Gaza military operation. Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities, killing three civilians. The offensive – codenamed "Operation Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip within the last six years.