GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: A ceasefire took hold on Thursday in and around Gaza after a week of cross-border violence between Israel and Palestinian militants that killed at least 160 people.

Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr of Egypt, which brokered the ceasefire after marathon talks, announced the cessation of hostilities at a joint news conference in Cairo with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.

The United Nations (UN) Security Council urged Israel and Hamas to uphold the ceasefire while joining with US President Barack Obama in praising Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi for mediating an end to the violence.

The accord calls on Israel to “stop all hostilities... in the land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals” and urges the Palestinian factions to end “rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.”

Israel would be obliged to ease restrictions on Gaza residents under the accord which specified that “procedures of implementation shall be dealt with” 24 hours after the ceasefire went into effect on opening Gaza’s border crossings and allowing the free movement of people and goods.

After a day of violence that killed another 18 Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was prepared to give peace a chance.

Obama commended Netanyahu for agreeing to the ceasefire proposal while “reiterating that Israel maintains the right to defend itself,” the White House said.

Gaza City’s streets were dark and deserted in the minutes after the truce took effect on Wednesday, but soon afterwards people poured out of their homes to hail the “victory” as the ceasefire appeared to hold.

Heavy celebratory gunfire could be heard throughout the Gaza Strip and fireworks were released into the sky, where Israeli drones still buzzed overhead.

After urging the two sides to uphold the accord, the 15-member UN Security Council also called in a statement for an international effort to get “emergency aid” into Gaza.

There had to be “expeditious and unimpeded delivery of such humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment,” said the statement.

The agreement came after a day of shuttle diplomacy led by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who said that details of the deal still needed to be ironed out.

Truce hopes appeared faint just hours before as a blast tore through a bus in Tel Aviv, and Israel hit back with deadly raids on Gaza City and elsewhere in the coastal Palestinian territory.

The blast, which injured 17 people, occurred close to the Israeli defense ministry and was quickly denounced by Netanyahu’s spokesman. Soon after, another six Palestinians were killed in air strikes on Gaza City

Israel launched its offensive on November 14 with the targeted killing of a Hamas military chief. It has since hit more than 1,500 targets.

Gaza militants fired more than 1,500 rockets back at Israel, whose vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted more than 420 of them.

The conflict came as Israel heads towards a general election in January, and raised the specter of a broader military campaign along the lines of the Jewish state’s devastating 22-day operation launched at the end of December 2008.