Israel confirms Hamas truce

Israel has officially confirmed that a ceasefire with the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip will begin this week.

Israel has officially confirmed that a ceasefire with Hamas Israel has officially confirmed that a ceasefire with Hamas

The move is an effort to end a year of fighting that has killed more than 400 Palestinians and seven Israelis.

The ceasefire is scheduled to begin on Thursday and would be followed next week by Israel's easing of its blockade of Gaza, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said. Talks to release an Israeli soldier held by Hamas will then intensify, Regev added.

Egypt, which brokered the talks, announced a six-month agreement on Tuesday, saying it would begin Thursday at 6am (0300 GMT). Hamas confirmed the deal shortly after. But there was no official confirmation from Israel until now.

"Thursday will be the beginning we hope of a new reality where Israeli citizens in the south will no longer be on the receiving end of continuous rocket attacks," Regev said. "Israel is giving a serious chance to this Egyptian initiative and we want it to succeed."

Egypt has committed as part of the deal to stop the smuggling of arms and weapons from its territory into Gaza, Israeli defence officials said. The US military engineering corps is to aid the Egyptian efforts, the officials said.

If Israel determines that Egyptian anti-smuggling efforts are serious, Hamas, Egypt and European officials will begin talks on opening Gaza's main gateway, the Rafah crossing into Egypt, Israeli defence officials said.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: "We in Hamas are committed to what we have declared." The group, which has tight control of power in Gaza, has said all the area's militant group's would abide by the truce.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 with the idea that the action could end rocket attacks and lead the way toward a peace agreement.

But chaos grew in the coastal territory, leading to the Hamas takeover last year and rocket fire has persisted almost unabated.

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