REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, GAZA/JERUSALEM - Palestinians rushed to shops and banks on Thursday during a five-hour humanitarian ceasefire that largely held, and an Israeli official said Egypt had proposed a permanent truce that would start on Friday.

But there was uncertainty about prospects for a full cessation of violence after the temporary truce lapsed. The official said senior Israeli negotiators in Cairo had approved a full truce to end 10 days of warfare but a final decision lay with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he had spoken with Netanyahu and added: "We are not familiar with the matter".

A spokesman for Hamas rulers of Gaza denied initial comments by the Israeli official that a full ceasefire was slated to start at 6 am local time on Friday.

Sirens sounded in southern Israel at 3 pm local time at the end of the five-hour ceasefire, and the military said a rocket had been fired at the cities of Ashkelon and Beersheba. During Thursday's period of relative calm, the Israeli military claimed three mortar bombs were launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip, landing in open areas.

The break in 10 days of fighting was requested by the United Nations to allow residents of the tiny, densely populated and impoverished Gaza Strip to gather supplies and repair damage to infrastructure such as water mains and power lines.

Gaza health officials say at least 224 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed. In Israel, one civilian has been killed by fire from Gaza, where the Israeli military claims more than 1,300 rockets has been launched into the Zionist state.

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