Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to extend a ceasefire in Gaza for another 72 hours after failing to reach a long term agreement in Cairo-mediated talks, an Egyptian official says.

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A previously agreed three-day ceasefire was set to expire less than an hour afterwards, at midnight local time.

The new truce agreement comes despite a rocket hitting the Jewish state just hours before the deadline.

“We have agreed to give more time for the negotiations,” Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Palestinian delegation in Cairo, told AFP, saying the extra time would be a further 72 hours.

An Egyptian official said Israel also accepted the proposal. Israel had earlier said it would back an extension of the lull.

The last-ditch effort to avoid renewed hostilities came after Palestinian officials said there were still gaps in an agreement for a long-term deal to end the conflict, which has killed almost 2000 Palestinians in Gaza since July 8.