Gaza City, August 27 (RHC)-- An indefinite truce, which took effect Tuesday evening in the war-torn Gaza Strip, remains in effect going into the second day. Many have praised the deal, which will presumably rid Gaza of its seven-year-old blockade by Tel Aviv.

The ceasefire deal last night was mediated by Egyptian officials in Cairo and calls for an opening of Gaza’s blockaded crossings with Israel and Egypt and a widening of the territory’s fishing zone in the Mediterranean.

Israeli warplanes and tanks started pounding the blockaded enclave in early July, inflicting heavy losses on the Palestinian land. Some 2,139 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were killed in 50 days of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza. Around 11,000 others were wounded.

Tel Aviv says 69 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, but Hamas puts the number at more than 150.