GAZA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement announced late on Friday it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel after a bloody day.
"After Egyptian and United Nations' (UN) efforts, a cease-fire was agreed between Palestinian factions and Israel," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a press release.
A UN source told Xinhua that it has been agreed to resume an already agreed truce between Israel and Gaza militants and rounds of cross-border violence.
"The efforts were led by the Egyptian intelligence, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov and other international players," the source told Xinhua.
Under the agreement which went into force by midnight, all parties should abide cease-fire and stop escalations and hostilities, the UN source added.
Four Palestinians were killed and 210 wounded on Friday during a mounting tension between the Israeli army and Hamas rulers of Gaza.
The Israel army confirmed that a combat soldier was killed during operational activity near the southern Gaza Strip on Friday.
In response to the soldier's death, the Israeli army carried out a wide-scale attack against Hamas military targets throughout the Gaza Strip.
