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| Fatah and Hamas 'agree ceasefire' | Fatah and Hamas 'agree ceasefire' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal, a senior Hamas official has said. | Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal, a senior Hamas official has said. |
| Mahmoud Zahar, who is foreign minister, said the ceasefire would come into effect from 0300 local time (0100 GMT). | Mahmoud Zahar, who is foreign minister, said the ceasefire would come into effect from 0300 local time (0100 GMT). |
| Fighting between militants linked to Hamas, the ruling party, and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah has left more than 30 people dead in the past few days. | Fighting between militants linked to Hamas, the ruling party, and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah has left more than 30 people dead in the past few days. |
| It is the worst violence since Hamas came to power in 2006. Attempts to form a unity government have so far failed. | It is the worst violence since Hamas came to power in 2006. Attempts to form a unity government have so far failed. |
| Mr Zahar made the announcement after talks between Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas and a senior aide to Mr Abbas in the Gaza Strip. | Mr Zahar made the announcement after talks between Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas and a senior aide to Mr Abbas in the Gaza Strip. |
| He said the two sides had agreed to take all gunmen off the streets of Gaza and remove checkpoints that had sprung up in many places. | He said the two sides had agreed to take all gunmen off the streets of Gaza and remove checkpoints that had sprung up in many places. |
| Both sides have agreed that militants should release hostages taken recently, Mr Zahar said. | |
| Saudi invitation | |
| Egyptian diplomats brokered the deal after days of mediation. | |
| There has been no word on the ceasefire as yet from Fatah. | There has been no word on the ceasefire as yet from Fatah. |
| The clashes erupted after weeks of relative calm, and explosions and gunfire continued to be heard throughout Monday. | |
| The two factions had been making renewed efforts to form a national unity government to satisfy the demands of international donors. | |
| Both sides have blamed the other for the outbreak of violence. | |
| On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah invited leaders from the rival factions to meet in Mecca to seek a solution to the wave of fighting. | |
| In an open letter, the king described the violence as a "disgrace" and urged leaders to make "dialogue prevail over the language of arms". | |
| Hamas and Fatah have accepted the invitation but no date has been set for the meeting. |