Gaza 72-hour ceasefire period begins

Reuters
Protesters shout slogans during a rally against Israeli air strikes in the Gaza strip, in Athens July 31, 2014. REUTERS/Yorgos Karahalis

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A 72-hour Gaza ceasefire period began on Friday, the most ambitious attempt so far to end more than three weeks of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Hamas Islamist-dominated enclave. The humanitarian truce, brokered by the United Nations and the United States, went into effect at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), and was to be lead to talks in Egypt on a longer-term solution. (Writing by Ori Lewis,; Editing by Jeffrey Heller)