Israel and Palestinian officials have agreed to impose a five-day ceasefire, hours before a previously declared three-day ceasefire on the Gaza strip was to end midnight Wednesday.

A senior Palestinian negotiator in Cairo made the announcement about the new ceasefire, saying that more time may be needed to discuss remaining issues about a longer-term truce.

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"There is an agreement on many points regarding lifting the siege," Chief Palestinian negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed told reporters in Cairo, confirming that the current ceasefire will be extended for five days.

A previously agreed three-day ceasefire was set to expire at midnight local time (2100 GMT).

In Tel Aviv, minutes before midnight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Force to respond to a rocket attack from Hamas, accusing the Palestinian side of violating the truce.

IDF sources said at least three rockets were launched toward Israel Wednesday morning, one of which was intercepted. There was no report if the other two rockets did damage.

An Egyptian official said Israel also accepted the proposal. Israel had earlier said it would back an extension of the lull.

Also in Cairo, Hamas' delegation leader Moussa Abu Marzouk described the negotiations as "difficult". Hamas wants Israel to lift a blockade imposed on Gaza, which Israel is not about to do, citing deep security concerns.

Israel says any attempt to lift the blockade should be dealt with only in future talks for a permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians.

The United Nations said 425,000 of 1.8 million population of Gaza have been displaced.

Last week, Israel pulled ground forces out of Gaza after saying the IDF had completed its main mission of destroying more than 30 tunnels dug by militants for cross-border ambushes.

TagsGaza, Israel, Cairo