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Israeli officials confirmed the start of the truce, but said Israel was "looking to see if this is serious".

A Hamas official said he was confident all militant groups in Gaza would abide by the agreement, brokered by Egypt.

Earlier at least six Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israeli air strikes in southern Gaza.

Israel said it had targeted "terror operatives".

Islamic Jihad said a missile struck a car carrying five of its members near Khan Younis. A sixth man died in a separate strike nearby.

The truce is due to come into effect at 0600 (0300 GMT) on Thursday.

This stage of the deal envisages a halt to hostilities and a partial reopening of Gaza's borders.

A second stage of the plan would focus on the return of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and on a deal to reopen the main Rafah crossing into Egypt.

Hamas official Ahmed Yousef told the BBC he hoped that the ceasefire would lead to a further opening of the crossing points from Israel into Gaza, and an increase in the number of supplies.

He said that the aim now was to push ahead talks on a prisoner exchange, as well as a new round of talks in Cairo between the rival Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas.

(BBC)

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