7-hour truce in Gaza

An army statement on Monday morning said the truce would occur between 0700 UTC and 1400 UTC in most of the Gaza Strip, with the exception of the southern town of Rafah where Israeli forces are still operating.

It said the "humanitarian window" would allow the entry of aid and for displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.

The announcement comes four weeks into Israel's bloody conflict with the Islamist militant group Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media reported on Sunday that most troops have pulled out of Gaza, however the army has stopped short of calling the move a withdrawal.

Israel fires near school

On Sunday, Israel admitted to firing near a UN school in Rafah on the same day, in an attack that killed at least 10 Palestinians. The school had been sheltering some 3,000 Palestinians displaced during Israel's offensive in the Gaza strip.

World leaders condemned the attack. UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for those responsible to be held accountable, saying through his spokesperson that "this madness must stop."

It was the second time in less than a week that Israeli shelling struck a school. Last week, a strike on another UN-school in the Jabalya refugee camp killed more than a dozen and injured over 100.

More than 1,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in 28 days of fighting, with a number of failed ceasefires in that time. Nearly 70 Israelis, almost all of them soldiers, have also lost their lives.

jr/av (AFP, dpa, Reuters)