Israel said it would suspend bombing Gaza for three hours
every day beginning on Wednesday as diplomacy to end the Jewish
state's war on Hamas gained momentum amid a mounting civilian
death toll.
"It was decided to suspend bombings between 1 and 4
o'clock (1100 GMT and 1400 GMT) every day starting today,"
an army spokeswoman told AFP, adding that the military would
respond if fired on and if rockets were launched from the
enclave.
Another official at the defence ministry told AFP that "the
army will stop its operations in the area of Gaza City."
The announcement came hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
said Israel would open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza --
a key point of an Egyptian plan to end the 12-day-old campaign
that has killed at least 680 Palestinians.
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"In order to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza
Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to adopt a proposal
by the security establishment to open a humanitarian corridor
into the Gaza Strip to assist the population," said a
statement from his office.
