Israel and Palestinian militants have agreed to a ceasefire ending an 11-day conflict which has cost more than 230 lives in Gaza and 12 in Israel, after days of international pressure to stop the bloodshed.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced late on Thursday that the cabinet had unanimously approved the “mutual and unconditional” ceasefire proposed by Egypt which had been mediating talks.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad confirmed the “mutual and simultaneous” agreement, saying in a statement that the truce would start at 02.00 on Friday (23.00 GMT).

The pause in violence came a day after the US president, Joe Biden, who had largely avoided putting public pressure on Washington’s ally, told Netanyahu that he expected “a significant de-escalation” to take the situation towards a ceasefire.

The ceasefire would put an end the heaviest fighting since 2014, in which Israeli airstrikes have inflicted widespread destruction in Gaza while militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel.

One Hamas official, Ali Barakeh, told the AP that the truce was a defeat for Netanyahu and “a victory to the Palestinian people.” Israel’s military similarly claimed “great accomplishments”.