Hamas Islamist militants announced on Sunday a 24-hour halt of its offensive against Israel in Gaza Strip shortly after the bloodshed resumes with more than a thousand of fatalities recorded.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the ceasefire will start at 2: 00 pm local time (11:00 GMT) for humanitarian purposes.

Like Us on Facebook

"As a preparation for the end of Ramadan and in response to the U.N. mediation and also regarding our people's living circumstances," Abu Zuhri said. "We have agreed with all Palestinian factions to give a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire starting from 14:00 on Sunday."

Israel has yet to announce if it will observe the ceasefire, but Reuters reported the government is considering the move.

The announcement came after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) cut short its own 24-hour ceasefire on Saturday until Sunday midnight when it resumed the invasion in the Gaza strip. The IDF said this is due to the "incessant rocket fire" conducted by the Palestinians Hamas on Israel.

Both sides have earlier agreed to temporarily stop their offensives early Saturday for 12 hours, while the United Nations called for an extension.

Israel granted the request, but Hamas refused and continued with its attacks. As a result, it prompted Israel to fire back.

The 20-day violence resulted in the deaths of about 1,060 Palestinians, which according to Gaza health officials, were mostly comprised of civilians and children. Israel has 46 fatalities recorded with three of them civilians and the the rest were soldiers fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The surge in death toll was attributed to IDF's ground invasion conducted that started last July 18. The invasion intended to stop Hamas militants from firing rockets. Israel deployed tens of thousands of soldiers in the Gaza Strip who were backed up by aerial and naval assaults.

Hamas militants have earlier signaled it will not accept any long-term truce with Israel and criticized the IDF for keeping its soldiers in the Gaza Strip while a ceasefire was still in place. Hamas said Israel should first back off in order to allow displaced civilians return to their shattered homes.

However, there was still heavy shelling by Israel in the Gaza strip after the scheduled 2:00 p.m. ceasefire. Sirens sounded off in Israeli communities, which is a sign possibility that Hamas militants continued its rocket launches in the area, Reuters reported.

The U.N. and world diplomats are under pressure to come up with a solution to the weeks-long war that has destabilized both nations, with initial truce proposals being rejected by both camps due to their imposed conditions that were seemed irreconcilable. 

TagsHamas, Hamas Islamist militants, Israel