Israel-Hamas Ceasefire to Begin on Thursday

A ceasefire in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is due to begin at 6:00 a.m.local time Thursday. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau inJerusalem.

After months of fighting, Israel and the Islamicmilitant group Hamas have decided to give an Egyptian-mediatedceasefire in Gaza a chance.

When the truce begins earlyThursday, Hamas will halt rocket and mortar attacks and Israel will endmilitary action in Gaza. Then Israel will begin gradually lifting itscrippling blockade on Gaza. On Sunday, Israel will open bordercrossings and allow in trucks packed with food and supplies.

"Israelhas decided to accept the Egyptian proposals and it is our sincere hopethat from tomorrow, our civilian population in the south will no longerbe the victim of these barrages of rockets and mortar shells fromterrorists in the Gaza Strip, and we will have a new period of peaceand quiet," Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said.

In Gaza, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said all Palestinian factions have agreed to abide by the truce.

Haniyeh said the ceasefire would help the Palestinian people who have suffered from the Israeli blockade.

Inthe second phase of the truce, Israel hopes to win the release of asoldier captured by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid two yearsago. The sticking point is what Hamas wants in return: freedom forhundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including those responsible fordeadly suicide bombings.

Hamas refuses to renounce violence orrecognize the Jewish state, so Israel fears the group will use thetruce to re-arm for the next round of conflict. But as Israeli CabinetBenjamin Ben Eliezer put it.

"I would talk to the devil to bring peace and quiet," he said, and to win the release of the captive soldier.