Israel-Hamas ceasefire will not be more than a pause

A Palestinian woman in front of the remains of her house, which was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Rafah in the southern Gaz Credit: REUTERS

Two cheers for the ceasefire. We still await official confirmation.

It seems Hamas has agreed to silence its rockets, the other militant factions like Islamic Jihad haven't signed up yet.

It's a feather in the cap for the Egyptian leader General Al-Sisi and how ironic, given his government's pursuit of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas's parent organisation, back home.

Israel will claim victory, but its definition of what a win looks like has been scaled back.An official told me today they'd be content with 18 months of calm. That's what the last Gaza conflict back in 2012 won them.

The sad truth is that until the Israelis and the Palestinians find a way of resolving the underlining conflict this will not be more than a pause.

Here, every ceasefire is merely the start of the countdown to the next war.

Read: Israeli cabinet to discuss ceasefire proposal