Palestine, Israel agree to ceasefire

KABUL (Pajhwok): Israel and Hamas agreed to ceasefire early on Friday ending deadly 11 days of violence that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip.

Celebrations were heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air, AFP journalists said, while in the occupied West Bank, joyful crowds also took to the streets.

With no alerts sounding in Israel to warn of incoming Hamas rockets, the ceasefire appeared to be holding in the early hours of Friday.

The truce brokered by Egypt, that also included Gaza's second-most powerful armed group, Islamic Jihad, was agreed following mounting international pressure to stem the bloodshed which erupted on May 10.

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