Israel and Hamas have agreed to halt its offensive against each other for five hours to give way to the humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip, where over 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

United Nations announced that the Israeli military has granted its request to stop the aerial and naval strikes of Israel in the border on Thursday for UN to conduct its humanitarian activities.

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In a statement, Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said the ceasefire will start at 10:00 a.m., local time until 3:00 p.m.

"Mr. Serry appreciates this Israeli decision and repeats his call on Hamas and other factions to respect the humanitarian pause from their side, in the interest of the people of Gaza," the statement, issued by Serry's spokesperson, said.

Meanwhile, Hamas Islamist militants have also agreed with the UN request to stop its rocket launch to Israel, which has so far killed one Israeli and injured six people.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri declared that the group accepted the temporary truce proposal from the UN for humanitarian purposes, Reuters reported. UN has yet to issue an official statement whether it has been advised on the Hamas' response.

If confirmed, it will be the first time Hamas will cooperate in a truce proposal.

Hamas officials insisted it would not agree with any ceasefire until its imposed conditions were met. The conditions include the opening of border crossings to commerce and people, and the freeing all Palestinian prisoners Israel arrested.

On the other hand, it is the second time the Israel military will stop its operation against Hamas, which is considered by several countries as a terrorist group. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it stopped firing Hamas on Tuesday as requested by Egypt.

But the ceasefire collapsed after the Hamas refused to cooperate and continue with its rocket attacks, prompting Israel to return fire and resume its offensive, IDF said.

Egypt, western countries, and the U.N. have urged the two sides to stop the war, which is now on its ninth day and have resulted in the deaths of at least 222 Palestinian, mostly civilians, and one Israeli, Palestinian officials said. Over a thousand people were wounded in the conflict.

TagsIsrael, Hamas, Hamas militants, Truce