Comprehensive Cease-fire Deal Between Hamas and Israel Reached: BBC

Hamas and Israel have agreed to a fresh Egyptian proposal to end hostilities in the Gaza Strip, BBC reported Thursday, citing an unnamed Israeli military official.

The latest agreement, said to be a “comprehensive” one, was reportedly reached during deliberations in Egypt on Thursday and will come into effect at 6 a.m. local time (11 p.m. EDT) on Friday. An earlier ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, also brokered by Egypt, fell through after Hamas rejected it, stating that it was an act of surrender to agree to a ceasefire without first reaching a permanent agreement on Gaza.

However, at the time of writing, there was no official confirmation from either Israel or Hamas regarding such a deal.

The news of the purported deal comes just as a five-hour “humanitarian cease-fire,” requested by the U.N., nears its end. Hamas and Israel had agreed Wednesday to halt fighting between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. local time to allow Gazans to stock up on supplies.

Officials of the Israel Defense Forces, however, claimed that Hamas fired three mortars at the Israeli city of Eshkol during the ceasefire. Israeli tank-fire had killed three people on Thursday, moments before the truce came into effect, according to Al Jazeera.

Four children were also killed in an Israeli air strike on a beach in Gaza City on Wednesday.

As of Thursday -- the tenth day of Operation Protective Edge -- one Israeli and 230 Palestinians have been killed, and over 1,600 have been injured in the Gaza Strip.