Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire beginning this morning, it was revealed last night.
During this time there will be negotiations on a more durable truce in the 24-day-old Gaza war, the United States and United Nations said.
The announcement comes hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas' tunnel network ‘with or without a ceasefire’.
The Palestinian death toll has soared past 1,400 - surpassing the number killed in Israel's last major invasion of Gaza five years ago.
The US and UN said they had received assurances that all parties to the conflict had agreed to an unconditional ceasefire.
A joint statement said: ‘This humanitarian ceasefire will commence at 8am local time (6am BST) on Friday, August 1, 2014.
‘It will last for a period of 72 hours unless extended. During this time the forces on the ground will remain in place.
‘We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian ceasefire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the ceasefire.’
The statement said the ceasefire was critical to give civilians a much-needed reprieve from violence.
During this period, civilians in Gaza will receive humanitarian relief and have time to bury the dead, take care of the injured and restock food supplies.
The time also will be used to repair water and energy infrastructure.
Earlier, the Israeli military said it was calling up an additional 16,000 reserve soldiers to pursue its campaign against the Islamic militants.
At least 1,441 Palestinians have been killed, three-quarters of them civilians, since hostilities began on July 8, according to Gaza health officials.