Gaza toll 227 ahead of truce

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, ahead of a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire Thursday, killed five Palestinians, including an old man, taking the toll in the attacks since July 8 to 227.

The Israeli airstrikes came even as Hamas militants fired dozens of rockets into central Israeli cities, Xinhua reported citing officials.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of Gaza health ministry, told reporters that five Palestinians were killed earlier Thursday in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza city, central and southern Gaza Strip, and more than five others were injured.

He said the death toll since the beginning of the Israeli large-scale offensive on the Gaza Strip July 8 has climbed to 227 while 1,685 people have been injured, more than half of them civilian women and children.

Explosions and the buzz of war jets and drones were heard all over the Gaza Strip, while Hamas militants claimed responsibility for firing more than 10 rockets into central Israeli cities and towns.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas agreed earlier Thursday on an international call to go for a five-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The ceasefire would last from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to enable international humanitarian aid organisations to bring aid into Gaza, according to an agreement with the UN.

It is the first pause of fighting since Israel and Hamas fighters engaged in fierce cross-border violence July 8, when Israel started an all-out operation codenamed Protective Edge to halt rocket fire from Hamas militants in Gaza.