Hamas and other Gaza terrorist groups announced on Sunday afternoon that they would give Israel a week to withdraw ground troops from the Hamas-controlled area, according to Agence France Presse. Mussa Abu Marzuk, the deputy leader of Hamas's politburo, said in Damascus, "We in the Palestinian resistance movements announce a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and demand that enemy forces withdraw in a week and open all the border crossings to permit the entry of humanitarian aid and basic goods."
Gaza-based spokesman Dawud Shihab of Islamic Jihad told the news agency that the truce would give an opportunity for Arab governments to put pressure on Israel to withdraw all its troops. Echoing remarks by Abu Marzuk, he said, "During this period, the resistance is ready to respond to all efforts by the Egyptians, Turks, Syrians and Arabs that will allow for a total withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and the total opening of border crossings."