Hamas says deal reached with Israel to restore calm in Gaza

Hamas said on Saturday it hadagreed to a truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip, a day afterclashes killed an Israeli soldier and four Palestinians alongthe volatile border.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the reportedceasefire. Israel's government and army rarely acknowledge ceasefires with Hamas, but a military spokesperson said civilianlife should return to normal in areas next to Gaza.

In what appeared to be an isolated incident, with no reportsof casualties, an Israeli tank fired on a Hamas post in Gaza after Palestinian suspects breached the border fence and enteredIsraeli territory before retreating back into Gaza, the militarysaid. There were no other reports of unrest in the area.

On Friday, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli soldier andthe Israeli military launched dozens of strikes that killed four Palestinians, including three Hamas fighters. At least 120Gazans were wounded.

"With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreedto return to the era of calm between [Israel]and Palestinianfactions," said Fawzi Barhoum, spokesperson for the Hamas Islamistgroup that controls Gaza.

The soldier was the first member of Israel's army to bekilled on the Gaza front since a 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, a military spokesperson said.

Egyptian-brokered agreement?

During the flare-up which lasted several hours, the Israelimilitary said its jets and tanks hit 68 Hamas targets, and destroyed "buildings and infrastructures and revoked significantmilitary and command and control capabilities."

Egyptian security officials and a diplomat from anotherunnamed state held contacts with Hamas and Israel in an effort to restore calm and prevent further deterioration, a Palestinianofficial told Reuters.

If confirmed, it would be the third ceasefire between IsraelIslamist Hamas to be brokered by Egypt this year and the secondtruce to be agreed this week after a day-long flare up lastSaturday.

Weekly clashes alongthe Israel-Gaza border have kept tensionshigh for months. At least 140 Palestinians have been killed byIsraeli forces during protests at the frontier held every weeksince March.

Protest organizers say they are demanding the right toreturn to lands lost to Israel in the 1948 war of its foundation and for an Israeli-Egyptian blockade to ease.

Israel says Hamas has been orchestrating the demonstrations,dubbed The Great March of Return, to provide cover for militants' cross-border attacks. Hamas denies this.

The surge in violence comes as Palestinian hopes for anindependent state have dwindled and peace talks remain stalled.Gaza, home to twomillion people, most of whom depend on foreignaid, has been under Israeli economic sanctions for 12 years.