Israel has agreed to a United Nations request for it to observe a five-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for humanitarian reasons.
The development came as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas travelled to Egypt in an effort to keep talk of a longer ceasefire in Gaza alive.
"Between 10:00 and 15:00 (local time on Thursday), the Israel Defence Forces will cease operational activity within the Gaza Strip and hold its fire," the Israeli military said in a statement.
UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Robert Serry had earlier told Israeli TV that he had asked the military for a "humanitarian pause" in its Gaza offensive and that, if it agreed, he would ask Gaza militants to follow suit.
"If it happens, I will also call on Hamas and other militant factions to reciprocate, stop firing rockets and respect the humanitarian pause," his spokeswoman quoted him as saying.
"It is in the interest of all the citizens of Gaza, in order to give them a chance to go to the hospital, get health care or get food."
Militant group Hamas said it was considering the request.
"Hamas has been informed about the UN proposal for a truce of several hours tomorrow," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.
"The proposal is being studied and when a decision has been taken it will be announced officially in a statement."
Four boys killed by Israeli fire on Gaza beach
Israel's attacks on Gaza continued ahead of the ceasefire, with several more Palestinians killed, while Hamas militants continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities.
In one incident, four boys aged between eight and 11 were killed on a Gaza beach when they were hit by Israeli fire in full view of several foreign journalists.
Israel's military said the deaths appeared to be the "tragic outcome" of an Israeli strike targeting Hamas militants.
"Based on preliminary results the target of this strike was Hamas terrorist operatives," it said in a statement.
"The reported civilian casualties from this strike are a tragic outcome."
Israel said it would investigate the incident.
The death toll in the conflict has now risen to more than 200 people, all but one of them Palestinian.
