Hamas Announces Immediate Ceasefire; Israel Must Leave in One Week

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Hamas has announced an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, giving Israel one week to completely withdraw its forces from the area.

The Sunday announcement was made by the faction's senior official Ayman Taha, who is currently in Cairo for diplomatic talks.

"Hamas and the factions announce a ceasefire in Gaza starting immediately and give Israel a week to withdraw," Taha said.

He also called on Israel to open all border-crossings to allow in 'the basic needs of the people', including food, medical supplies and other goods.

The development came shortly after Israel announced that it will not consider a timetable for the withdrawal of its forces from the Gaza Strip despite declaring a 'unilateral ceasefire' in the beleaguered region.

Israel announced a unilateral truce late Saturday after a three-week-long full-scale offensive that killed at least 1,300 Palestinians and wounded 6,000 others across the populated territory.

The announcement, which means a potential halt in military operation, has drawn strong criticism from the Israeli military as Tel Aviv failed to achieve the primary goals set at the beginning of the war on Gaza, Israeli website Debkafile reported.

Israeli forces, however, did not respect the 'unilateral ceasefire' and continued dropping white phosphorous bombs on Gaza residents on Sunday.