Officials from Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority announced a ceasefire Tuesday to end seven weeks of fighting between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, dpa reported from several capitals. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said during a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah that the truce would take effect at 1600 GMT. Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Hamas group that runs Gaza confirmed in an emailed statement that an agreement had been reached. Egypt's foreign minister confirmed the agreement had been reached late Tuesday. The ministry statement said the indirect peace talks between Israel and the militants should "continue within the space of a month." It added that the ceasefire will "coincide with the opening of all crossings between Gaza and Israel to facilitate the flow of humanitarian and emergency aid and construction and fishing within a six nautical mile zone," according to the Al Ahram website. Israel has agreed to allow all products to pass between its borders with the Gaza Strip, said Khaled al-Batsh, a high-ranking member of the Islamic Jihad militant group and participant in the Palestinian delegation during negotiations in Cairo. This includes building materials for the reconstruction of the Gaza region, Al-Batsh said. An Israeli official confirmed that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire, but did not comment on the specifics. "We have accepted once again the Egyptian ceasefire proposals, which call for a cessation of all hostilities," an Israeli government official told dpa.
