The Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas militant group June 17 said it has reached a cease-fire with Israel meant to halt a violent cycle of Palestinian rocket attacks that have killed seven Israelis over the past year and Israeli reprisals that have killed more than 400 Palestinians.

An Israeli soldier is seen on top of a tank at an army base near the Israel-Gaza border on June 17. AP PHOTO

The Egyptian-brokered accord, set to go into effect June 19, has the bigger aim of ending Israel's yearlong economic blockade of Gaza and bringing home the captive Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Schalit. But the phased approach is prone to pitfalls, and past truces have quickly broken down.

The announcement capped months of Egyptian-brokered negotiations that have been repeatedly marred by violence. The deal was first announced in Cairo by Egypt's state-run news agency and quickly confirmed by Hamas. However, Hamas said it would respond to "any Zionist aggression."

Underscoring the fragile situation, Israeli aircraft attacked three targets in southern Gaza, killing a total of six Palestinian militants. In response, Palestinian militants fired seven rockets into Israel.

Egyptian, Israeli and Hamas officials said the talks would quickly move to the larger issues of the blockade and the captive soldier.

An Egyptian official said that after three days, Israel would begin to open Gaza's border crossings to let more supplies into the area. A week later, he said, Israel planned to allow in additional goods.

The official said in a final phase, Israel would consider approval of the reopening of Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt. He said the idea is for the truce to last six months.