Israel and Hamas are set to begin a cease-fire this week that would end attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and Israeli raids into the Palestinian territory, Egyptian and Hamas officials said Tuesday.
Egyptian officials have been meeting separately with Israeli and Hamas officials for months in hopes of brokering a truce. The deal is set to begin at 6 a.m. Thursday.
"Both sides have pledged to halt all hostilities and all military activities against each other," Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in Cairo on Tuesday.
But violence in the region continued Tuesday, with Israeli aircraft attacking three targets in the southern Gaza Strip. One of the airstrikes destroyed a car, killing six militants inside.
Hamas officials accused Israel of trying to undermine the truce, but said they would honor the agreement. "We are going to commit ourselves to the start time that Egypt is going to declare regarding the calm," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
Another Hamas official said that Israel will reopen the Karni crossing to allow goods and raw materials into Gaza after three days of calm. He said the cease-fire is not connected to negotiations on the release of up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier, or the reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Israeli government spokesman David Baker said Israel continues to work for calm in the south, but he would not confirm that a cease-fire has been finalized.
From staff and wire reports.
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