Israel said Thursday it has agreed on a cease-fire with the Hamas militant group after deadly exchanges of fire over a period of 11 days killed hundreds of people.
Israel said in a statement that its security cabinet approved the Egypt-brokered cease-fire with Hamas at a national security meeting without any conditions.
"The Security Cabinet convened this evening. And accepted unanimously the recommendation of all security elements -- the Chief of Staff, the head of the Shin Bet, the Head of the Mossad, and the head of the National Security Council -- to accept the Egyptian initiative for a mutual unconditional ceasefire that will go into effect at an hour to be agreed upon later," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
As military conflicts continued between the Israel military and Hamas, the United States and other countries called for de-escalation.
The cease-fire came after both Israel and Hamas intensified their attacks on each other, with Israeli forces conducting air-raids while the Hamas side countered with a barrage of rockets.
The latest clash is the deadliest combat between the two since a massive confrontation in 2014 when weeks of fighting killed about 2,250 people in Gaza and some 70 in Israel.
For decades, Israel has been locked in the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, an Arab people whose origins are in modern Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which controls Gaza, is viewed as a terrorist organization by the United States, Israel and other countries.
