Hamas Agrees to New 24-Hour Truce in Gaza

The new ceasefire is expected to start at 2pm local time (noon GMT), according to a Hamas spokesman.

"In response to UN intervention and considering the situation of our people and the occasion of Eid, it has been agreed among resistance factions to endorse a 24-hour humanitarian calm, starting from 2pm on Sunday," Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

The move comes after the Israeli military resumed fighting in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating a previous humanitarian truce.

"Following Hamas' incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the [army] will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip," stated an Israeli military official.

The Palestinian death toll from Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip rose to 1,053 on Sunday, a Health Ministry official said.

"Four Palestinians were killed and three others injured in renewed Israeli air and artillery attacks on central and southern Gaza Strip," Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told the Anadolu Agency.

The bodies of 147 people, including women and children were pulled from the rubble of destroyed homes in the border areas of the Gaza Strip which have been the target of Israeli shelling and aerial bombardments.

The Israeli army had announced earlier on Sunday that it was starting up again its military offensive on the Gaza Strip, citing "incessant" rocket fire at Israel by Gaza-based Palestinian groups.

The announcement came shortly after the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said that it had fired several rockets into Israel.

In a statement, the brigades said it fired two M75 rockets at Tel Aviv and five Grad rockets at Ashdod.