Israel agrees Egyptian plan for three-day Gaza ceasefire

The Israeli government has accepted an Egyptian ceasefire proposal to end a month-long war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, a senior Israeli official has said.

The official said a preliminary 72-hour truce will begin this morning. An Israeli delegation will head to Egypt for talks to work out a long-term truce in the next three days.

The official said Israel will be watching “with a certain amount of scepticism,” since previous ceasefire plans have quickly collapsed.