Israeli soldiers at the border with Gaza
Israeli soldiers at the border with GazaFlash 90

Israel and the Palestinians have agreed a new 72-hour Gaza ceasefire that would start at 0500 GMT (8:00 a.m. Israeli time) Tuesday, said a senior official in Egypt, which is hosting truce talks.

"Egypt's contacts with relevant parties have achieved a commitment for a 72-hour truce in Gaza starting from 0500 GMT tomorrow morning, and an agreement for the rest of the relevant delegations to come to Cairo to conduct further negotiations," the official told AFP.

A Palestinian delegation, including Hamas representatives, has been holding talks in Cairo with Egyptian mediators for a durable truce in Gaza, but Israel has not yet sent any negotiators to the Egyptian capital.

"The Palestinians have agreed to a ceasefire proposed by Egypt," Azzam al-Ahmed, leader of the Palestinian delegation, told reporters in Cairo.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Seven truces have come and gone in the course of Operation Protective Edge. All of them were broken by Hamas.

In a message sent out by Hamas Monday to “the Palestinians of the Occupied West Bank,” it called on Arabs to “conduct mass riots” over the next three days as a “sign of support” for Gaza, and of “resistance” to “violence” by Israel. The message was sent even as reports came in that Hamas had agreed to the new three-day ceasefire.