Gaza ceasefire deal agreed

Israel has said there is an agreement for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza after nine days of bombardment, the Reuters news agency has said.

The news agency reported on Thursday that the Israeli security cabinet agreed to a truce after discussions in Egypt. The truce would come into effect on Friday if it was accepted.

"There is an agreement for a ceasefire beginning tomorrow. I believe it is 6am (3am GMT)," the official told the Reuters news agency.

However, there was no immediate word from the Hamas group, which controls the Gaza Strip. Hamas rejected a previous ceasefire offer earlier this week, saying it was never consulted on the terms.

The Israeli announcement was made during a five-hour humanitatian truce that began at 7am GMT.

The Israeli military said three mortar bombs landed in southern Israel near the border with Gaza on Thursday, about an hour after the start of a temporary ceasefire. The bombs caused no injuries or damage, it said.

Israeli tank fire also killed three people in southern Gaza just moments before the truce began, the AFP reported. Later, Iraeli artillery fire hit eastern Rafah.

Earlier, the Israeli army said it has stopped an attempt by more than a dozen Gaza fighters to infiltrate southern Israel through tunnels, as a temporary humanitarian truce came into effect in the enclave.

An Israeli military statement said the gunmen from Hamas intended to attack Kibbutz Sufa. An Israeli air attack killed eight fighters, it said. The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, denied any of its fighters had died.

The Israeli army had conducted 37 raids in Gaza overnight, while seven rockets were fired from Gaza, four of which landed in fields and the rest were intercepted by Israel's missile defences, the AFP news agency reported.

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Gaza said the truce would allow some repairs to infrastructure, such as electricity lines.