Jordan's King Abdullah II warned Sunday that Israel will only achieve security for its people through a peace settlement with the Palestinians leading to the establishment of their own state.

Abdullah Abu Shabab fled the war in Syria to shelter in Gaza, the home his Palestinian parents lost in the 1967 war. But in the end an Israeli bomb killed him.

Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a fresh 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza Sunday, accepting an Egyptian invitation to resume talks to end fighting that has killed more than 2,000 people.

The ceasefire deal, which was to come into effect at one minute past midnight (2101 GMT on Sunday), clinched days of frantic mediation to stem a firestorm of violence that resumed after an earlier truce collapsed on Friday. 

An Egyptian court on Saturday ordered the dissolution of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political wing of the already banned Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The decision follows the designation of the Brotherhood as a "terrorist organisation" in December, after the military overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

Israeli warplanes pummeled Gaza with 50 air strikes that killed eight Palestinians Saturday as militants slammed 24 rockets into Israel amid mounting calls for a fresh ceasefire.

Britain, France and Germany on Saturday urged Israel and Hamas to agree a truce at once.

An Islamist protester was killed during a clash on Friday with Egyptian police who arrested 40 demonstrators, the interior ministry said.

The ministry accused the protesters, supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, of confronting civilian opponents during a march and then firing birdshot and throwing petrol bombs at policemen, wounding an officer.

A Cairo court Thursday sentenced two men to life in prison for sexual attacks, in the latest example of the authorities' growing determination to tackle an epidemic of such crimes.

Egypt has been roiled by sexual violence since the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, with women regularly attacked by mobs at rallies in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square -- the focus of demonstrations.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Wednesday for the release of three Al-Jazeera journalists sentenced to prison in Egypt for allegedly defaming the country.

An Egyptian court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentences of 12 men for killing a police major general during a firefight southwest of Cairo last year, judicial sources said.

Major General Nabil Faraj was killed on September 19 2013 when the town of Kerdasa was stormed by security forces to flush out Islamist supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

Israel indicated Wednesday it was prepared to extend a 72-hour ceasefire with Hamas unconditionally in the Gaza Strip as Egyptian mediators accelerated efforts to broker a longer-term truce.

Guns fell silent in the tiny Palestinian enclave on Tuesday morning, allowing millions of people on both sides to breathe a sigh of relief after the deaths of 1,875 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side.