A week-long truce beginning Sunday between Israeli army and Hamas militants has been proposed on Friday in a bid to end the bloodshed that killed almost 800 people.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is currently in Cairo, Egypt, proposed the truce, while discussing with world leaders how to end the 17-day war.

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Officials from Palestine and Israel would begin its negotiations once the ceasefire started, New York Times reported, quoting an official involved in the talks.

Among the issues that will be discussed are about the economic, political and security concerns in the Gaza Strip, which is in control of Hamas Islamist militants.

As of Friday, the details of the proposed peace talks remains unclear, with both sides of Israel and Hamas yet to confirm whether it will accept the proposal.

The need for a truce has been underlined this week following the deadly assaults in United Nations-run schools. The latest incident took place on Thursday when a school in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip was shelled, immediately killing 15 people and wounding over 200 refugees.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has renewed his call for both sides to halt its offensive and urged them focus on bridging the gaps to end the bloody war.

The latest figures showed that fatalities reached 796 as of Thursday, majority were civilians, while 32 soldiers were killed on Israeli side.

Earlier, Hamas's political leader, Khaled Meshal, insisted that it would not accept any truce unless its imposed conditions were met. Militants urge Egypt and Israel to ease its restriction with the Gaza strip.

Israel, on the other hand, expressed its openness to peace talks, but warned militants it is prepared to respond if attacks continue during the negotiations.

It is the second peace talks brokered by a third party this month following the initiative of Egypt call for peace. Egypt's proposed truce collapsed after Hamas militants launched rockets to Israel during the agreed ceasefire.

The offensive went deadlier after the Egypt-back truce collapsed.

Israel began its ground invasion in the Gaza Strip and mobilized tens of thousands of reservists to join the army, backed by air strikes and naval assaults.

With the latest proposal, U.S. and world powers are hoping to stop the violence and come up with a permanent solution to the Hamas-Israel dispute.

Kerry already spoke with several diplomats regarding the truce, especially with Qatar and Turkey, who support Hamas and were seen as effective intermediaries with the militant group. 

TagsEgypt, John Kerry, Hamas, Hamas militants, Gaza Strip