U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a joint announcement Thursday that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The ceasefire will start 8 A.M. on Friday local time. In the statement, Ban and Kerry said that this ceasefire will give civilians the opportunity to "receive urgently needed humanitarian relief, and the opportunity to carry out vital functions, including burying the dead, taking care of the injured, and restocking food supplies. Overdue repairs on essential water and energy infrastructure could also continue during this period."
The statement also announced that delegates from both Israel and Palestine will be sent to Cairo to negotiate measures for a longer term ceasefire with the Egyptian government.
"During this time, the forces on the ground will remain in place," the statement also read, meaning that Israel is allowed to continue searching for and destroying the tunnels that Hamas had been using, according to the Guardian.
Hamas also confirmed their agreement to the ceasefire. "Acknowledging a call by the United Nations and in consideration of the situation of our people, resistance factions agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian and mutual calm that begins at 8 A.M. as long as the other side abides by it," Jerusalem Post quoted Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman from Hamas. Abu Zuhri added that "all Palestinian factions are united behind the issue in this regard."
During their meeting at Cairo, both Israel and Hamas will be able to bring all of their concerns to the table.
Secretary Kerry told reporters at New Delhi, "All the people involved in this have strong demands and strong visions on what the future should look like. Israel has to be able to live in peace and security, without terror attacks and rockets and tunnels and sirens going off in the day. And Palestinians need to be able to live with the opportunity to educate their children and move freely and share in the rest of the world and lead a life that is different from the one they have long suffered," according to a Reuters report.
