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"JERUSALEM \u2014 Israel and Hamas on Monday accepted an Egyptian cease-fire proposal meant to halt a bruising monthlong war that has claimed nearly 2,000 lives, raising hopes that the bloodiest round of fighting between the bitter enemies could finally be coming to an end.\nStill, both sides signaled a rough road ahead, with an Israeli official expressing skepticism given previous failures, and a Palestinian negotiator saying \"it's going to be tough.\"\nSee also: Inside the 'Terror Tunnels' in Gaza\nA last-minute burst of violence \u2014 including a deadly Palestinian attack in Jerusalem, continued bloodshed in Gaza and the reported execution of a number of suspected collaborators with Israel \u2014 served as reminders of the lingering risk of renewed violence.\nAfter weeks of behind-the-scenes diplomacy, Israel and Hamas both announced late Monday that they had accepted the proposal for a preliminary 72-hour truce, beginning at 8 a.m. local time Tuesday. Egypt was then set to host indirect talks to work out a long-term truce over the next three days.\n\"At 8 a.m. local time tomorrow a cease-fire starts and Israel will cease all military operations against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip,\" said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev. \"Israel will honor the cease-fire and will be watching to see if Hamas does, too.\"\nThe war broke out on July 8 when Israel launched an air offensive in response to weeks of heavy rocket fire out of Hamas-controlled Gaza. It expanded the operation on July 17 by sending in ground forces in what it described as a mission to destroy a network of tunnels used to stage attacks. Israel says the last of the tunnels has nearly been destroyed.\nThe war has taken nearly 1,900 Palestinian lives, most of them civilians caught in fighting inside Gaza's crowded urban landscape, according to Hamas medical officials. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers have also died, as well as two Israeli civilians and a Thai laborer who worked in Israel. The heavy death toll has eclipsed that of previous rounds of fighting in 2009 and 2012.\nIsrael had been signaling in recent days that it was winding down its military campaign. On Sunday, it withdrew most of its ground forces from Gaza, and the army said the pullout was continuing Monday.\nAs the fighting appeared to be tapering off, a Palestinian website close to the Hamas internal security service in Gaza said an unspecified number of Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel were executed.\nIt said the alleged collaborators were caught \"red-handed\" providing information to Israel, including details on certain houses and alerts about planned ambushes. \"The resistance will show no mercy to anyone tempted to provide information to the enemy,\" the al-Majad website said.\nIn Jerusalem, an assault carried out with a construction vehicle served as another reminder of the tense climate.\nIsraeli TV stations broadcast a series of amateur videos of the attack, in which a Palestinian man used the front shovel of a construction excavator to ram a bus and tip it over.\nShortly after the excavator attack, a gunman on a motorcycle shot and seriously wounded an Israeli soldier in Jerusalem. Police called it a \"terrorist\" attack, signaling alleged Palestinian involvement, and searched for the shooter in east Jerusalem.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/08/04/gaza-cease-fire-israel/>