Israel on Tuesday accepted an Egyptian-proposed ceasefire plan to halt its deadly offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip but the Palestinian militant groups rejected it calling it a "surrender", even as the death toll in the nine-day long conflict rose to 192.
Despite Hamas' rejection of the ceasefire proposal, which got into effect at 9 AM local time, the truce has largely held itself with several hours of lull in violence since morning.
Israel's security cabinet and the coalition partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, however, were divided on the decision to accept the ceasefire proposal with vociferous opposition raised by some of the key leaders.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman voted against the ceasefire plan, as did Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett. Besides Netanyahu, Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and ministers Gilad Erdan and Yitzhak Aharonovich voted in favour of the ceasefire proposal under Egyptian mediation.
As per reports in the Egyptian media, Israel will stop its aerial and naval attacks on Gaza, specifically refraining from any ground incursion into the Strip.Hamas, as per proposal, will rein in the Palestinian factions and work to put an end to all types of attacks on Israel, including by rockets, sea or even underground tunnels.
"If the offer is what was reported, then this is surrender. We'll intensity our fight against the enemy," Hamas' armed wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said in a statement.
Hamas spokesman Fauzi Barhoum also said that the Egyptian ceasefire offer was unacceptable.
"A ceasefire without an agreement is out of the question. During a war, you don't hold your fire and only then start negotiating," he said. Hamas political bureau member, Ezzat Rishq, was quoted in local media as saying that the Egyptian initiative was not discussed with Hamas, Islamic Jihad or one of the other factions in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Israel's military campaign in Gaza today rose to 192, after six more Palestinians died, four of them in strikes before Israel accepted the ceasefire. More than 1,300 Palestinians, including women and children, have been wounded since the offensive started on July 7, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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