Israel agrees temporary halt to Gaza bombardment

Israel today announced a pause in its 12-day Gaza offensive to allow desperately-needed food, fuel and medicine into the shattered region.

But at the same time the government was discussing a possible expansion of its onslaught aimed at stopping the rain of rocket fire coming from militants there.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said the military planned to halt firing between 1 and 4 pm local time.

Israel has come under criticism for harming Gaza civilians during its offensive and Gaza is suffering from shortages of basic supplies and fuel, and many areas are without electricity and running water.

Tanks, infantry and aircraft continued to hammer dozens of Hamas targets overnight, a day after France and Egypt announced a plan to stop the fighting which has seen more than 600 Palestinians killed.

Eleven Israelis have been killed since the offensive began: three civilians and a soldier by rocket fire and seven soldiers in the ground offensive, according to Israeli officials.

The Egyptian and French presidents released no details of their proposal, saying only that it involved an immediate cease-fire to permit humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks to settle the differences between Israel and Hamas, which rules the small coastal territory.

Earlier yesterday President-elect Barack Obama broke his silence on the crisis, saying that “the loss of civilian life in Gaza and in Israel is a source of deep concern for me.” He declined to go further, reiterating his stance that the US has only one president at a time.