World leaders hail Gaza ceasefire

World leaders have hailed a ceasefire that took hold in the early hours of yesterday and vowed to help rebuild Gaza, after an Israeli bombing campaign that killed more than 240 people and Palestinian rocket attacks that killed 12 in Israel. 

The worst violence since 2014 ceased after 11 days under an agreement mediated by Egypt.

The United Nations secretary general urged Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers to observe the ceasefire and called on global leaders to develop a reconstruction package "that supports the Palestinian people and strengthens their institutions".

Few analysts believe there will be progress towards resolving the fundamental issues in the immediate future. There were no signals of an end to Israel's decades-old military grip over the Palestinian territories and its blockade on the already-devastated Gaza enclave, within which 2 million people live under hardline Hamas rule.

However, Guterres said the UN was ready to work with Israel, the Palestinians, and others to return to "meaningful negotiations" on a two-state settlement based on territorial lines before the 1967 war.

World leaders welcomed the ceasefire deal.

"I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I'm committed to working toward it," US President Joe Biden said. He said the US would work together with the UN agencies and the Palestinian authority, but not Hamas, to rebuild Gaza.

The European Union insisted that working towards a "two-state solution" was the only viable option.

Russia and China called for a return to peace talks.

Palestinians rallied by the thousands early yesterday to mark the truce after a bombardment which Palestinian health officials say killed 243 people, including 66 children. More than 1,900 were wounded.

At least 25 Palestinians also have been killed by Security forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Gaza officials said 16,800 homes and key utility facilities were damaged.

Israeli authorities put the country's death toll to date at 12, including two children.

The violence erupted on May 10, triggered by Palestinians' anger at what they saw as Israeli curbs on their rights in Jerusalem.

Fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police broke out at Al-Aqsa mosque compound yesterday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 21 people were hurt in the clashes. AFP reporters said Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades at unarmed Palestinians.

After the truce was announced, both sides claimed victory.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military had attacked and destroyed Hamas's extensive tunnel network in Gaza, its rocket factories, weapons laboratories and storage facilities and killed more than 200 militants, including 25 senior operatives.

He warned against any further attacks, saying: "If Hamas thinks we will tolerate a drizzle of rockets, it is wrong." He vowed to respond with "a new level of force" against any aggression anywhere in Israel.