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Israelis And Palestinians Agree To 72-Hour Cease-Fire

Israel has accepted a 72-hour cease-fire proposed by Egypt. It will take effect Tuesday morning local time.

Israeli officials "stressed that the cease-fire is unconditional and pointed out that its acceptance came about after Israel finished destroying the terror tunnels," the Jerusalem Post reports.

A Palestinian delegation has been holding talks with Egyptian mediators. It's not yet clear when Israel will send representatives to Cairo to participate.

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Hamas had rejected the same proposal last month.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will now be expected to hold indirect talks aimed at finding terms for a more lasting truce.

"We are waiting on the Israelis to show up for the talks with the Egyptians about the proposed cease-fire," Izzat Risheq, a senior Hamas official, told CNN by telephone from Cairo.

As we reported earlier, Palestinians accused Israel of breaking its own seven-hour cease-fire on Monday. Three people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed when a house at a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip was shelled, according to a Gaza health official.

Israeli police said one Israeli died Monday when a Palestinian construction worker crashed a backhoe into a Jerusalem bus.

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In all, some 60 Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have died. More than 1,800 Gazans have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials.

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