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The
Israeli military declined to comment on the reported ceasefire.
Israel's government and army rarely acknowledge ceasefires with
Hamas, but a military spokeswoman said civilian life should
return to normal in areas next to Gaza.
In what appeared to be an isolated incident, with no reports of
casualties, an Israeli tank fired on a Hamas post in Gaza after
Palestinian suspects breached the border fence and entered
Israeli territory before retreating back into Gaza, the military
said. There were no other reports of unrest in the area.
On Friday, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli soldier and the
Israeli military launched dozens of strikes that killed four
Palestinians, including three Hamas fighters. At least 120
Gazans were wounded.
"With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to
return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian
factions," said Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for the Hamas Islamist
group that controls Gaza.
The soldier was the first member of Israel's army to be killed
on the Gaza front since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, a
military spokesman said.
During the flare-up which lasted several hours, the Israeli
military said its jets and tanks hit 68 Hamas targets, and
destroyed "buildings and infrastructures and revoked significant
military and command and control capabilities."
Egyptian security officials and a diplomat from another unnamed
state held contacts with Hamas and Israel in an effort to
restore calm and prevent further deterioration, a Palestinian
official told Reuters.
If confirmed, it would be the third ceasefire between Israel
Islamist Hamas to be brokered by Egypt this year and the second
truce to be agreed this week after a day-long flare up last
Saturday.
Weekly clashes at the Israel-Gaza border have kept tensions high
for months. At least 140 Palestinians have been killed by
Israeli forces during protests at the frontier held every week
since March.
Protest organizers say they are demanding the right to return to
lands lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation and for
an Israeli-Egyptian blockade to ease.
Israel says Hamas has been orchestrating the demonstrations,
dubbed The Great March of Return, to provide cover for
militants' cross-border attacks. Hamas denies this.
The surge in violence comes as Palestinian hopes for an
independent state have dwindled and peace talks remain stalled.
Gaza, home to 2 million people, most of whom depend on foreign
aid, has been under Israeli economic sanctions for 12 years.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Writing by Maayan Lubell and
Ori Lewis; Editing by James Dalgleish and Andrew Heavens)
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