Israel announced that its military troops withdrew from Gaza and returned to their defensive positions moments before the Egyptian-brokered truce took effect at 8:00 am local time (0500 GMT).

According to Israel, they achieved the main objective of the conflict with Gaza, which is to destroy the Hamas militants' network of tunnels. A BBC News report citing Gaza officials said the month-long conflict left 1,800 Palestinians and 67 Israelis dead.

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Israeli military spokesperson Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner said they will redeploy the Israel Defense Forces outside Gaza and maintain their defensive positions there.

Before the ceasefire took effect, residents in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv heard air raid sirens as the militants launched rockets at the central part of the country. Israeli troops also conducted raids in Gaza moments before the truce began.

Israeli troops launched a military offensive against Hamas on July 8 with the main goal of putting an end to the rocket attacks and destroying the tunnels that Palestinian militants used.

Before the withdrawal of its military troops, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement announcing that they took out the 32 tunnels that the militants used to stage raids in Israel. The IDF also said it killed 900 "terrorists" and destroyed 3,000 of their missiles.

There were several attempts to broker a truce between the two conflicting parties, but few of them lasted since each side kept accusing the other of violating the agreement. Israel accepted one of the ceasefire deals that Egypt negotiated but Hamas only rejected it.

The new ceasefire agreement proposes that representatives from all involved parties should attend a scheduled discussion in Cairo. The Palestinian side still demands that the Israeli troops withdraw fully from Gaza and end its blockade at the border crossings.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the major objective of Israel was to restore the peace and security to its citizens.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the truce and urged both parties to conduct the talks in Egypt at the soonest possible time.

TagsIsrael, Gaza, Hamas, Egypt, Cairo, BBC News, Peter Lerner, Ban Ki Moon, Palestinians, Israelis, Jerusalem, tel aviv, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Benjamin Netanyahu