A humanitarian ceasefire aimed at temporarily halting hostilities in Gaza came into effect on Tuesday hours after Israel said it had intercepted an attempt by 13 militants to infiltrate through a tunnel leading from the coastal territory.

Both Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group in charge of Gaza, said they would observe the five-hour pause, which was requested by the UN and took effect at 10am local time (7am GMT), as the search for a formula leading to a long-term truce continued.

There was little let up in the fighting even before the temporary ceasefire took hold, with Israel saying it had blocked an effort by militants to tunnel their way towards Sufa, a Kibbutz near the Gaza frontier.

The Israeli army said it had deployed aircraft and other forces to block the infiltration.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an army spokesman, said the interception had "foiled a terror attack that could have had devastating and deadly consequences".

At least one militant was said to have been killed in the incident, with the rest escaping back to Gaza. Neither Hamas nor other militant factions claimed responsibility for the incident.

A humanitarian ceasefire aimed at temporarily halting hostilities in Gaza came into effect on Tuesday, hours after Israel said it had intercepted an attempt by 13 militants to infiltrate through a tunnel leading from the coastal territory.

Both Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group in charge of Gaza, said they would observe the five-hour pause, which was requested by the UN and took effect at 10am local time (7am GMT), as the search for a formula leading to a long-term truce continued.

There was little let up in the fighting even before the temporary ceasefire took hold, with Israel saying it had blocked an effort by militants to tunnel their way towards Sufa, a Kibbutz near the Gaza frontier.

The Israeli army said it had deployed aircraft and other forces to block the infiltration.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an army spokesman, said the interception had "foiled a terror attack that could have had devastating and deadly consequences".

At least one militant was said to have been killed in the incident, with the rest escaping back to Gaza. Neither Hamas nor other militant factions claimed responsibility for the incident.

Thursday's temporary truce – officially justified as providing an opportunity to repair Gaza's damaged infrastructure and allow its beleaguered residents to stock up supplies – came as the Palestinian death toll from 10 days of fighting climbed to at least 224, according to local health officials.