DHAKA: Five people have been killed just hours into a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a 72-hour pause in fighting.

There was an immediate lull in fighting as the truce began at 8am local time (05:00 GMT) on Friday. However, less than three hours later, medics reported deaths in the south of the Palestinian territory. Five people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in Rafah as a result of Israeli tank shelling, they said.

There were also reports of sniper fire in the east of Gaza City.

Earlier on Friday, the Israeli army said five of its soldiers had died in mortar fire near the Gaza border, underlining the need for a negotiated truce.

Hopes of an end to the bloodshed rose early on Friday after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a joint UN-US ceasefire proposal. Both sides swiftly confirmed their commitment to the truce, after 25 days of bloody confrontation.

While the proposal was accepted by Hamas, a spokesman stressed it was dependent on Israel reciprocating.

"Hamas and all the resistance movements have accepted a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire from 8:00am on Friday which will be respected by all these movements if the other party also observes the ceasefire," Fawzi Barhum was quoted.

At least 1,459 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since Israel launched its offensive. About 60 Israeli soldiers have been killed, in addition to three civilians killed by rockets fired from Gaza.

Source: Al Jazeera

**Hamas, Israel agree 72-hr truce

BDST: 1245 HRS, AUG 01, 2014