It said the agreement, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, will allow hundreds of humanitarian, medical and fuel aid trucks to enter Gaza. "As we announce the striking of a truce agreement, we affirm that our fingers remain on the trigger, and our victorious fighters will remain on the lookout to defend our people and defeat the occupation," Hamas said. Israel, in a separate statement confirming the deal, said the pause in fighting would be extended for another day for every additional 10 hostages released. Tonight, it approved the proposed deal as a first stage to achieving this goal," Israel's prime minister's office said. Al-Khulaifi added that Qatar hopes the deal "will be a seed to a bigger agreement and a permanent cease of fire.

---

Persons: Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al, Khulaifi, Enas Alashray, Ahmed Tolba, Andrew Mills, Rami Ayyub, Jacqueline Wong, Simon Cameron, Moore, Michael Georgy Organizations: State, Foreign Ministry, Reuters, International Committee, ICRC, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, DOHA, Israel, Gaza, Qatar, Egypt, Qatari, Cairo, Washington