Israel agrees to a ceasefire

Israel has agreed to a ceasefire. However, the country has not said when it will be effective. The Israeli cabinet said in a statement that it had agreed to a ceasefire in line with Egypt's offer of a settlement. However, this ceasefire will be 'bilateral and unconditional'.

The agreement was reached at a meeting of Israel's Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday (May 20th), the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, the Israeli-based Jerusalem Post reported that Egyptian officials had informed the Egyptian mediator that they had agreed to end the military operation in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a meeting with members of the cabinet on Thursday night to discuss the nature of the ceasefire and other aspects. An announcement in this regard may come at the end of the meeting.

Israel has been launching airstrikes on Palestinian installations in the occupied valley since the night of March 10, claiming to have fired rockets at Israel from Gaza. At least 232 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, including more than 50 children. On the other hand, 13 people were killed in the rocket fired by Hamas in Israel.

Earlier on Wednesday (May 19th), a senior official of the Palestinian militant group Hamas told CNN that they expected an Israeli ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza in a day or two.