Sunday´s announcement came about 12 hours after Israel declared its own unilateral ceasefire. [break]
Hamas´ Syrian-based deputy leader, speaking for the militant Palestinian factions, said on Syrian television that the cease-fire will give Israel time to withdraw and open all the border crossings to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
An Israeli security chief told cabinet ministers the military operation "is not over" and that the next few days would be critical to determining whether it would resume.
The military said no one was injured by more than a dozen militant rockets that struck southern Israel ahead of the announcement from deputy Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk on Syrian television.
"We the Palestinian resistance factions declare a cease-fire from our side in Gaza and we confirm our stance that the enemy´s troops must withdraw from Gaza within a week," Abu Marzouk said.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev would not say what level of violence would provoke Israel to call off the cease-fire.
"Israel´s decision allows it to respond and renew fire at our enemies, the different terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, as long as they continue attacking," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the start of the weekly Cabinet session.
In Gaza, people loaded vans and donkey carts with mattresses and began venturing back to their homes to see what was left standing after the punishing air and ground assault the tiny seaside territory endured.
Bulldozers began shoving aside rubble in Gaza City, the territory´s biggest population center, to clear a path for cars while medical workers sifting through mounds of concrete said they discovered 75 bodies. discovered dozens of bodies in the debris.
The Israeli cease-fire went into effect at 2 a.m. Sunday local time after three weeks of fighting that killed some 1,200 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, according to Palestinian and United Nations officials. At least 13 Israelis also died, according to the government.
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