Between israel and gaza just announced. According to the details of the agreement which we are just getting in to cnn, the quote is forces on the ground will remain in place. This is only a humanitarian ceasefire. A brief pause in the fighting, all meant to get aid to civilians in gaza. We are going to hear from a top israeli official, israels ambassador to the United Nations in a moment. First we have sarah sidner in jerusalem, john vaz in gaza city. Whats happening there, john . Reporter well, erin, we have seen a number of rockets fired by hamas since news came through that there is a ceasefire deal in place. Obviously the rockets outgoing to israel. Sarah can tell you more about where they landed. We have been seeing a lot of israeli activity here. Heavy machine gun fire to the east. Also the sound of artillery as well. We were expecting an uptick in the activity here. They agreed to the ceasefires and launched a last barrage of activity, trying to get as much done before the ceasefire goes into place. We have about six hours before the ceasefire takes hold. We should also say while hamas said they will abide by the ceasefire not just hamas but all the palestinians in gaza, they have said they are committed to it, providing the other party israel, sticks to it as well. Erin . John, is this a sign of weakness or running out of steam on the part of hamas that they would agree to the ceasefire . Reporter this is a question. Because these two sides have been dug in. Hamas said they wont agree to a ceasefire while israeli troops remain in gaza looking for the tunnels. The israelis said they wont agree to a ceasefire if they cant continue to look and destroy the tunnels. So this is the gray area. No one is able to answer this. We put the question to the spokesperson for hamas. He gave one line back. He said this ceasefire is mutual. Mutual ceasefire. Both parties agree to stop doing what they are doing. That was the implication. He said its mutual. At this point we just dont know. We are still waiting to hear from the israelis about looking for those tunnels. We are also hearing from people who have been forced to leave their homes in jabalia, all the areas which are now areas of operation as far as the israelis are concerned. And theyre not particularly happy about not being able to go back to their homes. The israeli troops will remain in place in those areas. One other issue in all of this, erin, too. This is a drastic humanitarian situation in gaza. Look at it. This is pitch black. No power. The people have been without electricity for three days. We were at the hospital. They were running off generators. They dont think they can run 24 7 for much longer. They dont have spare parts to fix them. This is dire here right now. Thank you, john, very much on the gaza side. I want to go to sarah sidner in israel. Whats happening there . Reporter we are in ashkelon. We have been hearing the deep baritone booms of artillery fire from here going into gaza. We have seen that there are sirens that went off in a few areas. One south of Ben Gurion International airport. We understand from the idf that two of the rockets actually landed in the sea. One of the rockets had to be taken out by the iron dome. It was headed toward a populated area of israel. We can also tell you that we were at the scene, got to the scene of a rocket where a rocket hit in a neighborhood. The iron dome does take care of a lot of these things coming into populated areas, but not all the time. This one it missed. Landing in a street and blasting two cars that were literally sort of blasted across the street and just blown apart. We also saw a lot of shrapnel when we went to the scene, all over the houses surrounding it. A pretty wide area. We understand from the that person very far away, but the sh rap nell made it to the arm. So, you need to get to a safety room if you have it. These are the areas that get hit quite often. Thank you, sarah sidner. And now, lets ask the big question on the table tonight. Will the ceasefire last the 72 hours its supposed to . Well, hamas has a strange way of ceasefires. Usually, we cease, and they fire. But hopefully Better Things will take place. And the two sides dont sound like a cease fire anything more than a humanitarian cease fire has a chance here. Well, what motive has israel . Maybe theyre digging so deep that we just might find oil. But seriously, israel went out of gaza never to look back. If its going to be quiet in israel, its going to be quiet in gaza. We have absolutely no motive to continue this. We have the terror tunnels, and we look at it with tunnel vision, ignoring hamas war crimes theyre doing. So, if we look at it this way, we will only see dark and destruction. And in terms of the cease fire, is israel firmly on board, they will observe that . Well, im sure we will hear a decision from israel very soon. But from what we know in the past, it was very clear. Israel abided by all the cease fires, including the ones that hamas initiated and broke. We have seen israel bombarded with 2,800 rockets until now. And this is absolutely amazing. In the streets today, one street, 28 buildings, 19 were booby trapped. And dozens were wounded. Just to explain to the world what were up against every day. And humanitarian reasons, thats what is behind the expected cease fire. But the United Nations says the humanitarian reasons are because of israel. Attacks occurring now on schools, hospitals, u. N. Premises. None of this appears to me to be accidental. There has been clear Warnings Issued to israel. They appear to be defying obligations that International Law imposes on them. What do you have to say . 27 meters away from elementary schools, and hamas do we have wolf blitzer with us . I believe you have the breaking news from benjamin netanyahu. We have word that the statement were getting from israeli officials, theyve accepted the u. S. U. N. Offer for a cease fire beginning at 8 00 a. M. , a little bit over six hours from now. So, israeli officials now telling cnn that israel has agreed to the 72hour cease fire. You have the israeli ambassador to the United Nations with you. He probably knew this was coming, but we now have official word from the Israeli Government now. And thank you, wolf. Ambassador, we now formally have this. And israel is on board with the cease fire. And youre trying to show me that the militants from hamas are firing at israel from very close to elementary schools. Its very important. Everyone talking about the targeting of innocent civilians. Israel does not target innocent civilians, period. 27 meters from a school in gaza. Hamas is using and abusing their own population as human shields, but launching missiles day in and day out. And a lot of our viewers are hearing that hamas would store weapons in the schools. So, youre saying its not because of the weapons, but there were militants nearby. Well, two different things. They would store rockets in schools, and secondly, they stored it in mosques, hospitals, civilian buildings. We go in an area completely full of explosives, one found in a baby crib. We have to find a way let me ask you how morally, you get around this. If youre the side without the iron dome, not as strong weapons, maybe its in your intere interest. But if youre israel, is it still okay to fire at the school with civilians in it . Well, israeli troops are out there, being shot from mosques, with booby traps. Theres no one in israel, trying to go out and target civilians. When we make mistakes, it takes us time, but we stand up, and assume responsibility. And its important for you and your viewers to understand, israel doesnt want this. All we want is to live in peace with our neighbors, we want to reach out to everyone, holding the shield of david very, very close to our chest. Because only a secure israel can achieve overall peace in the region. And the breaking news, israel has agreed to a cease fire in gaza. Wolf blitzer just broke the news. And the United Nations with the harsh words for israel. Is the u. N. No longer neutral . Plus, ebola patients coming back to the United States. One of them to doctor san ja guptas hospital. Breaking news, a temporary cease fire in the middle east. The u. N. Announcing that all sides have agreed to lay down their arms for a short period of time. Its a humanitarian lull. Our Foreign Affairs correspo correspondent elise labert is there. Reporter theyre looki ininr the parties to show commitment to a longerterm arrangement that addresses many parts of this problem. All of them trying to piece this together. Listen to secretary kerry speaking just moments ago. Theyve agreed they are prepared to implement a 72hour, unconditional ceasefire. So, starting later this morning, 8 00 a. M. , august 1st, the parties are expected to cease all offensive activities, and neither side will advance beyond its current locations. Israel will be able to continue its defensive operations for the tunnels behind its lines. And the palestinians will be able to receive food, medicine, and additional humanitarian assistance as well as to be able to tend to their wounded, bury their dead, and in safe areas, travel to their homes, and take advantage of the absence, hopefully, of violence for the 72 hours. And what secretary kerry is hoping, it can be extended to another 72 hours, and as the parties come to cairo to talk about the issues underlying the conflict, dealing with the tunnels, and other things, that can build trust, and an extended calm in which the parties can show a better commitment to peace. And james zogby is with me. Thanks for being with me. Dan, theres been a lot of criticism for john kerry. One person wrote, kerry ruined everything. That was a couple days ago. Now, a joint statement from the United States, kerry, and the United Nations, a cease fire. Is he vindicated . Well, some of the rhetoric was hot. It wasnt just israel that had a problem with these, it was the jordanians, and hamas, everyone h had a problem with it. He negotiated it with qatar and turkey, both hamas supporters. And the state department put out this statement this is a very serious issue, but it sounds like a very childish thing to say. Does that really serve to not elevate hamas . I think whats important is that the Palestinian Authority is in control. And israel by agreeing to the cease fire has given control to the authority. We have a problem here. Hamas has agreed to a reconciliation process, and working with the Palestinian Authority, and now well see the authority in charge of conducting these negotiations. And one hopes they continue the cease fire, and we do see long term, concrete relief. In the form of open borders and an opportunity to grow the economy. It can take a long time for this to heal, and i dont want to see anymore damage done. Dan, it is to a lot of people watching, you hear hamas mi militants saying this is a war to end all wars, and then a cease fire that people hope is going grow into something bigger. Well, what jim just said, he didnt talk about whether or not hamas should be able to rearm. Israel says they use every cease fire to rearm and refresh. Im curious to see what jim thinks what hamas has built in the last nine years. A terrorist training camp, hundreds of millions of dollars spent, launching hundreds of rockets a day. So, i think from israels standpoint, of course they want some kind of cease fire, an end to the process. But they dont want to go back in. Its not good for anybody. So, to avoid going back in, they need to get rid of the rocket threat, get rid of the terror tunnels, and jim, you do agree that hamas should not be able to rearm, right . I agree that there should only be one authority. And i agree that there has to be an understanding. Israel didnt leave gaza. When you have a government that counts the calories that it lets into gaza, and says, we let 1,200 in a day, thats enough for each person. The lives of people are at stake here. 1. 8 million people, its not an exaggeration to say its an openair prison camp. Do not blame the victim. Understand that hamas emerges out of the despair and anger in the region. What we have to hope is that we have an agreement that strengthens the Palestinian Authority and creates a future for everyone in the region. Modern arab leaders throughout the region disagree with what you said. Today, they said the arab world is more sympathetic to the actions of israel. Hamas is not gaza. And israel is not palestine. The war with hamas is not about suffering palestinians. Thats not what this war against hamas is about. And thats why the United States senate today, the saudi monarchy, theyre all saying, hamas still in power, and able to rearm, and wreak havoc, is bad for the region. And nobody should want israel to have to go in and keep doing what its doing now. And to that point, how would anyone stop hamas from being able to rearm, if youre not going to stop the governments iran, qatar, places like that . Well, in 2005, when they left gaza, they did it without the Palestinian Authority. Condoleezza rice negotiated an agreement, and the result is you have a void in gaza where hamas was able to become strengthened, defeat the Palestinian Authority, and get back in. Well, you cant take the Palestinian Authority out of gaza they defeated them. The blizzard of words here i let you talk. Please let me finish. The point is, we want to see a different future, we want to see a government that will care for the priorities of the people, jobs, employment, and feeding them. Certainly, no one favors the philosophy, tactics, or priorities of hamas. But i also find deplorable the way that israel has created the situations of despair and poverty in gaza. And people can so doubt on whether this building or that building, but when you bomb the power plant, leave them without water, its wrong and a war crime. Jim, is hamas i agree with you that the civilian facilities being bombed is horrendous. But do you not blame, i want to be clear, hamas can choose whether or not to launch attacks, kidnap israelis through the tunnels or not. So, youre saying, its hamas making the decision. But israel bombing, thats also their decision, isnt it . Well, theyre responding to terrorist attacks. If 2 3s of our population were in bomb shelters, what do you think we would be doing . So, its true i will agree with you. Hamas made deplorable choices. But israel has not helped the situation. Theyve compounded it by committing atrocities that have only strengthened the terrori s terrorists. Thank you for being with us. Still outfront, hours away from the ceasefire. And congress has been lashing out against israel for the violence. And two people with ebola are on their way to the United States. One of them will be treated at dr. Sanjay guptas hospital. Well speak with him. Or maintenance for 5 years, nothing. They even cover my first months payment. So, ill be happy wherever the summer takes me. 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Switch to comcast Business Internet and get the fastest wifi included. Comcast business. Built for business. Back now with our breaking news. Israel has officially accepted a 72hour ceasefire with hamas. Holding fire starting at 8 00 a. M. Local time, in less than six hours. Its for humanitarian reasons only, get supplies, bury the dead. And hopefully get power and water back. Wolf blitzer is in jerusalem tonight. He broke the news that israel had agreed to the ceasefire, after hamas did. Why was there a delay . Well, theres clearly a split in the Israeli Security cabinet. One part wanted to continue operations inside gaza. And the prime minister, and the defense minister, other more moderate members, saying the u. S. , and the u. N. Wants this cease fire. Israel is going to go along with it. The images out there, the civilian casualties out there are awful. So, theyre telling us that in accord answer with other plans, theyve gone along with this decision. And under the terms of the agreement, they can undertake defensive military operations during the course of the three days of the humanitarian ceasefire. Which is interpreted as saying that israel can continue to destroy the tunnels going from gaza to israel. And its controversial, israel accepting the 72hour ceasefire put forward by the u. S. And u. N. But there will be a palestinian and israeli delegation in cairo tomorrow to talk about the issues. Rockets, missiles coming from hamas and gaza. So, well see where the ceasefire goes. 8 00 a