Israel to withdrew completely from Gaza Strip

The Israeli army withdraw its forces from the embattled Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning as a 72-hour ceasefire comes into effect.

"Israeli forces withdrew completely from Gaza at 8a.m.," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner told Anadolu Agency.

The Israeli government and Palestinian factions had earlier endorsed an Egyptian proposal for a three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip starting Tuesday.

"From 8:00am today we will implement a 72-hour ceasefire," the Israeli army wrote Tuesday morning on its Twitter account.

"During this time, we will maintain defensive positions near the Gaza border," it added.

The ceasefire started amid hopes that it will hold to give the two sides enough time to reach a durable truce.

On Friday, a similar ceasefire crumbled two hours after it had come into effect when Israel resumed its aerial strikes against the blockaded Gaza Strip, claiming that Gaza-based groups had kidnapped an Israeli soldier.

Israel later declared the soldier killed in combat.

An Israeli delegation is expected to head to the Egyptian capital Cairo within hours to start indirect talks with the Palestinians on an arrangement that puts an end to fighting between the two sides.