Egypt-brokered ceasefire deal reached with Israel, says Islamic Jihad

A leader of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza has announced that a ceasefire deal had been reached with Israel to end five days of heavy fighting.

Mohamad Al Hindi told the Al Kahera Wal Nas channel on Saturday that the Egyptian-brokered deal would go into effect at 10PM local time (1900 GMT).

"Now, this agreement has been reached thanks to continuous Egyptian effort. We appreciate this effort," he said.

But shortly before the deal was to take effect, Israel reported intense Palestinian rocket fire toward southern and central Israel, and said it was striking targets inside Gaza.

There was no Israeli comment on the ceasefire announcement. But the Egyptian station had earlier reported a deal was imminent.

Egypt frequently acts as a broker between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza. A similar announcement last week by Egypt unravelled amid continued fighting.

Dozens of Palestinians killed

The fighting has killed 33 Palestinians inside Gaza, including at least 13 civilians. Two people were killed by rocket fire in Israel, including an 80-year-old Israeli woman and a Palestinian man from Gaza who had a permit to work in Israel.

The latest violence erupted on Tuesday when Israeli airstrikes killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders.

Israel said the airstrikes were in response to a previous burst of rocket fire the previous week and that its attacks have been focused on Islamic Jihad targets.

But residents in Gaza said homes of people uninvolved in fighting also had been struck.