‘As a preparation for the end of Ramadan and in response to the UN mediation and also regarding our people’s living circumstances, we have agreed with all Palestinian factions to give a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire starting from 14:00 on Sunday,’ Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement.
Lt Col Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, did not say if Israel would hold its fire during the time requested by Hamas, but said troops would continue demolishing Hamas military tunnels. Earlier on Sunday, Israel resumed its Gaza offensive, calling off a unilateral extension of a humanitarian ceasefire after Palestinian militants fired several rockets at southern Israel.
Israel late Saturday night had extended by another 24 hours the truce, but Hamas had rejected it saying no ceasefire is valid without Israeli troops and tanks withdrawing from Gaza and that it would only halt rocket attacks on Israel once the displaced were allowed to return home.
Earlier, the Israeli cabinet while announcing the ceasefire had said that the army would act if it is breached by Hamas. Hamas had said in a statement that ‘no humanitarian ceasefire is valid without Israeli tanks withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and without residents being able to return to their homes and ambulances carrying bodies being able to freely move around in Gaza’. Hamas fired several rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, after the initial 12-hour truce ended.
It also accused Israel of using previous ceasefires to prepare for more attacks and claimed that there had been truce violations on Saturday. During the original 12-hour ceasefire, Palestinians frantically scoured through rubble with medics saying over 150 bodies had been retrieved across the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said any truce must include a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and that tens of thousands of displaced people must be allowed to return to their homes.
Israel’s current terms are ‘not acceptable,’ he said in a text message to journalists.
The health ministry in Gaza said 1,060 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and about 6,000 wounded since Israel launched its Gaza offensive on 8 July.
43 Israelis have also been killed in the fighting in the Gaza Strip including Sergeant First Class Barak Refael Degorker, a 27-year-old Indian-origin reservist from the town of Gan Yavne.
Lt Col Peter Lerner, an Israeli army spokesman, did not say if Israel would hold its fire during the time requested by Hamas, but said troops would continue demolishing Hamas military tunnels. Earlier on Sunday, Israel resumed its Gaza offensive, calling off a unilateral extension of a humanitarian ceasefire after Palestinian militants fired several rockets at southern Israel.
Israel late Saturday night had extended by another 24 hours the truce, but Hamas had rejected it saying no ceasefire is valid without Israeli troops and tanks withdrawing from Gaza and that it would only halt rocket attacks on Israel once the displaced were allowed to return home.
Earlier, the Israeli cabinet while announcing the ceasefire had said that the army would act if it is breached by Hamas. Hamas had said in a statement that ‘no humanitarian ceasefire is valid without Israeli tanks withdrawing from the Gaza Strip and without residents being able to return to their homes and ambulances carrying bodies being able to freely move around in Gaza’. Hamas fired several rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, after the initial 12-hour truce ended.
It also accused Israel of using previous ceasefires to prepare for more attacks and claimed that there had been truce violations on Saturday. During the original 12-hour ceasefire, Palestinians frantically scoured through rubble with medics saying over 150 bodies had been retrieved across the Gaza Strip.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said any truce must include a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and that tens of thousands of displaced people must be allowed to return to their homes.
Israel’s current terms are ‘not acceptable,’ he said in a text message to journalists.
The health ministry in Gaza said 1,060 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and about 6,000 wounded since Israel launched its Gaza offensive on 8 July.
43 Israelis have also been killed in the fighting in the Gaza Strip including Sergeant First Class Barak Refael Degorker, a 27-year-old Indian-origin reservist from the town of Gan Yavne.