Israel and Islamist militant group Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire in their conflict in the Gaza Strip starting on Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced that Israel will observe the cease-fire. The IDF said that work to destroy terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip would continue despite the truce.
The ceasefire will begin at 8 a.m. on Aug. 1, they said in a joint statement. The statement said “forces on the ground will remain in place” during the truce, implying that Israeli ground forces will not withdraw.