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Israel-Gaza 'ceasefire begins' after two days of fighting Israel-Gaza 'ceasefire begins' after two days of fighting
(about 1 hour later)
A ceasefire has come into effect after two days of fighting between Israel and militants in Gaza, Egyptian, UN and militant sources say. A ceasefire between Israel and militants in Gaza has come into effect after two days of the most intense fighting for months.
The violence began after an Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander. Egyptian and Palestinian sources said the truce began at 05:30 (03:30 GMT). Israel has not officially commented.
Israel has not confirmed the ceasefire. Before fighting ended, a family of eight was killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza, Palestinians said.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says 32 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, while 63 people have been treated for injuries and stress symptoms in Israel. Thirty-two Palestinians died in the violence, local sources say, triggered when Israel killed a militant leader.
A PIJ spokesman told the BBC the ceasefire came into effect at 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT). Israel says more than 20 of the Palestinian fatalities were militants.
A senior Egyptian official told AFP news agency the ceasefire agreement came "as a result of Egypt's efforts". Dozens more Palestinians and Israelis suffered injuries, according to medical sources on both sides.
UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov said both the UN and Egypt had "worked hard to prevent the most dangerous escalation in and around Gaza from leading to war." More than 400 rockets were fired at Israel by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant group, the Israeli military said, while Israel carried out waves of air strikes against what it said were PIJ targets.
The violence erupted after Israel killed top PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata in a pre-dawn strike on Tuesday. Israel said he had been responsible for many rockets fired from Gaza and was planning an imminent attack.
The deadliest incident of the two days of fighting happened on Wednesday night when an air strike on a house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed the family of eight.
Gaza's health ministry, run by the territory's dominant militant group Hamas, said all those who died were civilians, including a woman and a child.
The Israeli military said the strike killed PIJ commander Rasmi Abu Malhous, who it said was the head of a rocket unit.
After the ceasefire began, UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov said both the UN and Egypt had "worked hard to prevent the most dangerous escalation in and around Gaza from leading to war".
In a tweet, he called on both sides to "show maximum restraint and do their part to prevent bloodshed".In a tweet, he called on both sides to "show maximum restraint and do their part to prevent bloodshed".
Apart from a lone rocket launch witnessed by a Reuters correspondent, Gaza appeared to have fallen mostly silent at the hour cited by Islamic Jihad, with the quiet holding past sunrise.
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there were still warnings 90 minutes later.