The Palestinian leadership, along with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are willing to observe a 24-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a senior PLO official said on Tuesday.

The Palestinian leadership, along with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are willing to observe a 24-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a senior PLO official said on Tuesday.

"After extensive calls and consultations with the brothers in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian leadership announces on behalf of everyone the willingness for a ceasefire and humanitarian truce for 24 hours," said Yasser Abed Rabbo, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

"We call on all Arab and international parties to support this ... and hold 'Israel' fully responsible for the consequences of refusing it," he said, reading out a statement.

For its part, the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas on Tuesday denied that it had accepted a deal for a humanitarian ceasefire for 24 hours, contrary to earlier reports.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that "Yasser Abed Rabbu's statement that Hamas agreed to a ceasefire for 24 hours is not true and has nothing to do with the resistance's stand."

"We will consider a ceasefire when 'Israel' commits to it with international guarantees," Abu Zuhri added.

All major Palestinian political factions declared in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that they were willing to "react positively" towards a UN proposal for 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire during an emergency meeting held on Tuesday in Ramallah, headed by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.