No accounts of violence have been reported Monday since the time Israel said it would begin holding fire for seven hours in most of the Gaza Strip to allow Palestinians access to humanitarian aid and for displaced civilians to return to their homes.

However, just hours before the truce was scheduled to start, an Israeli airstrike killed a militant Palestinian leader.  The Islamic Jihad group said its commander in the northern part of the the Gaza Strip, Daniel Mansour, died when the strike hit his home. 

Israel positioned tanks near the Gaza border Monday before the cease-fire went into effect.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, says it it skeptical about the truce announcement, and urged Palestinians in Gaza "to take caution."

The truce, beginning at 0700 UTC, was announced just hours after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza town of Rafah killed at least 10 civilians who had sought shelter in a United Nations school.

The Israeli military later said it had targeted three suspected militants near the school, and said it was "reviewing the consequences" of the strike.  It also said Monday's truce will not apply to Rafah where military operations were set to continue.

It is the third time in 10 days that a U.N. school has been the target of lethal explosions that have drawn international condemnation. The latest attack also drew a strong rebuke from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, who called it "a moral outrage and a criminal act."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called it "disgraceful" and "appalling."
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