Pat Dollard

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza militants agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to stop three days of violence, a Hamas official said Sunday, after a deadly attack on Israelis near the Egypt-Israel border set off a round of Israeli airstrikes and rocket barrages from Gaza.

The sudden flareup also threatened Israel-Egypt relations, after Egypt said five of its policemen were killed by Israeli fire as Israel’s troops and aircraft pursued the militants responsible for killing eight people Thursday. Egypt complained strongly as thousands demonstrated in Cairo, and Israel apologized.

The senior Hamas official said Sunday afternoon that militant groups in Gaza agreed that the truce would go into effect Sunday evening. Hamas security personnel would enforce the agreement brokered by Egypt, the official said. He said Egypt told the groups that Israel would agree to halt its airstrikes only if the Palestinians stopped the rocket fire first.

A spokesman for Israel’s government would not comment, and it was not clear if the cease-fire indeed had the backing of all of Gaza’s armed factions.

Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes continued hours after the cease-fire was to take effect at 9 p.m. local time.

Earlier Sunday, a salvo of rockets from Gaza struck an empty school and sent thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters. Israel responded with airstrikes and diplomats scrambled to limit the violence.