Israel Accepts Outline Deal On Gaza Ceasefire

From The Telegraph:

An end to the Gaza conflict came in sight as Israel said it accepted an outline ceasefire plan.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, will send a senior envoy, Amos Gilad, to Cairo to scrutinise the proposal put forward by Egypt and France.

But Israel sought to keep up pressure on Hamas by announcing yesterday its war cabinet had authorised preparations for a third and more devastating phase of the offensive on Gaza which would involve raids on urban areas.

Omar Suleiman, the powerful Egyptian intelligence chief, is believed to have persuaded representatives of the Hamas leadership to also provisionally accept the plan.

Israel is buoyed by what it sees as a successful military assault on Hamas members and infrastructure in Gaza and wants to make sure any ceasefire contains two key elements.

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