Gaza conflict: 12-hour truce as deaths top 900 Published duration 26 July 2014

media caption Chris Morris reports from Shejaiya, where people are using the truce to dash back to their homes to gather what they can

Residents in Gaza are using a 12-hour humanitarian truce to return to their homes, gather essential supplies and search for those trapped in the rubble.

At least 85 bodies have been pulled from the rubble during the truce, a Palestinian health official says.

That raises the Palestinian death toll to 985 since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on 8 July, the spokesman said. Thirty-nine Israelis have died.

International talks on a longer truce have resumed in Paris.

Israel said it would continue to "locate and neutralise" Hamas tunnels during the pause, which began at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

So far 31 tunnels have been discovered, with about half destroyed, Israeli's military says.

image copyright Reuters image caption In southern Gaza, truce was preceded by a deadly air strike that hit a family home

Before the truce began, Israeli strikes killed at least 19 Palestinians overnight at a family home near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Images showed relatives weeping as the bodies of five children were taken to a local morgue.

Two Israeli soldiers were also killed overnight, Israel's military confirmed.

The Iron Dome defence system intercepted three rockets fired towards the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon overnight.

'Astonishing scene': Ian Pannell, BBC News, Gaza City

image caption A BBC team has been into the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, hit hard by Israel last Sunday

In the district of Shejaiya, residents started flooding back from 08:00, despite warnings not to do so.

The scene here is just astonishing - the most widespread destruction: buildings completely pulverised, cars thrown 50m (160ft) into the air on top of buildings, the facades of some block of flats completely ripped off.

The air is pretty thick with the stench of death as people try to recover bodies and belongings.

In the background I can hear a crackle of gunfire. Although a humanitarian ceasefire is in place, clearly people are still shooting. There is an Israeli drone flying overhead, and we've heard the sound of fighter jets.

I think people feel they have a brief window of opportunity to do as much as they can and then frankly get out of here.

'Confident of ceasefire'

US Secretary of State John Kerry met the foreign ministers of Turkey, Qatar and some European countries in Paris on Saturday in the hopes of agreeing a longer ceasefire.

"We all call on parties to extend the humanitarian ceasefire," France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters.

"We all want to obtain a lasting ceasefire as quickly as possible that addresses both Israeli requirements in terms of security and Palestinian requirements in terms of socio-economic development."

Mr Kerry spent a week in the Middle East attempting to broker a deal before leaving Egypt on Friday.

image copyright Reuters image caption US Secretary of State John Kerry has been leading efforts to secure a ceasefire

media caption Government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel was ultimately seeking "peace and quiet"

Hamas insists that any ceasefire should include a lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt since 2007.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel "appreciated" Mr Kerry's continued efforts, and that Israel wanted "peace and quiet".

"The people of Gaza are not our enemy, our enemy are the people shooting those rockets into Israeli cities," Mr Regev told the BBC.

Israel is reported to want to continue operations against Hamas infiltration tunnels once direct conflict ends.

The 12-hour truce was agreed overnight, although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) vowed to respond if attacked.

The truce came shortly after Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon warned that ground operations in Gaza could soon be broadened "significantly".

media caption Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces in Bethlehem, as Orla Guerin reports

The British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said he was disappointed at the failure to reach a longer-term truce.

But he welcomed Saturday's 12-hour pause, saying it could "open up a little bit of space to work on a more sustainable ceasefire".

Separately, the UK confirmed it would send £2m ($3.39m) of additional assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) in Gaza.

image copyright AFP image caption Israel's Iron Dome system intercepted several rockets fired from Gaza on Friday

There were also clashes during protests in the West Bank on Friday which left at least five Palestinians dead.

Palestinians in the West Bank had declared a "Day of Rage" against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping Hamas firing rockets into Israel.

It has since extended its operation to destroy tunnels dug by militants to infiltrate Israel.

Are you in the West Bank, Gaza or Israel? How has the ceasefire affected you? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, using the subject line 'Israel Gaza'.