Hamas said that it and other armed groups in Gaza had reached "national consensus on a humanitarian truce". Israel later confirmed that it would observe what it called "a humanitarian window in the Gaza Strip", mediated by the UN. Speaking in Egypt, Kerry confirmed the rejection but said diplomats were still trying to work out a deal. "We still have terminology and context to work through, but we are
confident we have a framework that will work, and we will continue to
work for that ... none of us here are stopping." Kerry met Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, in Cairo on Friday, and spoke by telephone to his Qatari and Turkish counterparts. Israel has already indicated it plans to step up its incursion into the Palestinian territory. Gaza's Health Ministry has said that 870 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's assault on Gaza began 18 days ago. More than 5,740 have been injured. Rockets fired from Gaza into Israel have killed two Israeli civilians
and a Thai migrant worker. A total of 35 Israeli soldiers have died in
Gaza. The growing casualties in Gaza have caused anger in the West Bank,
prompting two days of mass protests in several cities and ensuing
clashes with the Israeli police that killed at least nine Palestinians. Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from the West Bank, said Israeli
forces used live rounds and tear gas to disperse protesters. "In Hebron, 16 people were been injured after Israeli forces opened
live fire on protesters. In Jenin, 14 people were hurt, most suffering
gunshot wounds," he said. "In Bethlehem, five were injured, one reportedly critically after being shot in the chest."
Al Jazeera- Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian
truce to begin at 8am (05:00 GMT) on Saturday to pause hostilities in
Gaza.
He will fly to Paris on Saturday for another conference on Gaza.
12-hour truce comes into force in Gaza
Zaman Alwasl
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