Egypt confirms Israel-Hamas truce

Hamas and Israel have agreed a truce which begins on Thursday, Egyptian diplomatic sources said today. Israeli officials confirmed the start of the truce, but said Israel was "looking to see if this is serious."

Egypt's state-owned news agency confirmed Tuesday that the Islamic group Hamas and Israel have agreed on a truce which is to begin on Thursday. The MENA agency cited an unnamed high-level Egyptian official as saying that both sides have agreed on the first phase of an Egyptian-brokered agreement to end the violence in the coastal strip.

According to the Egyptian news agency, the first phase of the truce is a mutual and simultaneous calm in the Gaza Strip starting at 6 a.m. Thursday.

Earlier Thursday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Egypt would soon declare the deal unless unexpected events were to occur. "We are close to declaring an agreement on the calm, barring unforeseen developments," he said.

Another Hamas official said the two-phase deal could start as soon as Thursday and would begin with a three-day cessation of hostilities. The official said following the trial three days, Israel would open a border crossing with Gaza to let in raw materials banned under a months-old Israeli blockade.

He added that the second phase would focus on Hamas' returning Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by militants from the group two years ago in a cross-border raid. In exchange, Israel would reopen Gaza's main gateway, the Rafah crossing with Egypt. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized.

An Israeli official confirmed that the flow of humanitarian aids would resume if Hamas adhered to its end of the truce deal. "If Hamas keeps the cease-fire, we can gradually deliver more goods and supplies," an Israeli official said, but added that any commitment to a particular level of supplies into Gaza would be kept "vague on purpose."

The Israeli official said Rafah could reopen only if there was "significant progress" toward Shalit's release. Israel controls access to the border terminal by European monitors who oversee its operation. "No shooting won't be enough to reopen Rafah. Progress on Gilad Shalit is required," he said.

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