The ceasefire came into effect last night in Gaza. The truce follows four days of Israeli shelling and Palestinian rocket launching that killed 25 and wounded 30.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/ Agencies) - Israelis and Palestinians agree to a truce after four days of Israeli shelling and Palestinian rocket launches. The ceasefire came into effect last night. Sources say that Egypt offered to mediate. Sources note that both sides agreed to stop the violent escalation; a period of calm should follow.

The death toll now stands at 25, mostly members of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and Islamic Jihad but also some civilians, including a 15-year-old boy.

According to Israeli authorities, more than 40 rockets were launched against Israeli settlements, some falling 50 kilometres from Tel Aviv, wounding 35.

The latest violence was triggered by an Israeli air strike on Friday that killed a senior PRC leader. Israeli sources said the action had been planned for some time.

Muslims extremists responded by launching 42 rockets against southern Israel, triggering an immediate response from Israel.

Israeli attacks occurred at a time when the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations were meeting to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The US has condemned the rocket attacks as "cowardly"; the Arab League called the Israeli air strikes "a massacre".

Using a more diplomatic language, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the flare-up in violence, describing rocket attacks on Israeli civilians as "unacceptable" and urging Israel to "exercise maximum restraint".

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• palestine
• gaza
• rockets
• shelling
• truce
• ceasefire