Israel and Hamas agree on 12-hour truce

A 12-hour ceasefire came into force between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip at 8am (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, the 19th day of a conflict that has killed at least 900 people.

Israel and the Palestinian armed group said they would observe the temporary UN-mediated ceasefire, after US Secretary of State John Kerry was unable to reach a lasting truce during talks on Friday in Cairo.

At least 10 houses in Gaza were reportedly struck by Israeli aircraft overnight, she said, including one house in Khan Younis, where at least 20 people, most of them members of the same family, died.

Speaking in Egypt, Kerry confirmed the rejection but said diplomats were still trying to work out a deal.

"We still have terminology and context to work through, but we are confident we have a framework that will work, and we will continue to work for that ... none of us here are stopping."

Kerry met Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, in Cairo on Friday, and spoke by telephone to his Qatari and Turkish counterparts. 

He will fly to Paris on Saturday for another conference on Gaza.

Israel has already indicated it plans to step up its incursion into the Palestinian territory.

Gaza's Health Ministry has said that 870 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's assault on Gaza began on July 8. More than 5,740 have been injured.

Rockets fired from Gaza into Israel have killed two Israeli civilians and a Thai migrant worker. A total of 35 Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza.

The growing casualties in Gaza have caused anger in the West Bank, prompting two days of mass protests in several cities and ensuing clashes with the Israeli police that killed at least nine Palestinians.