World : Limited truce in Gaza as Israel winds down ground operations.

GAZA CITY — A seven-hour "humanitarian" truce between Hamas and Israel appeared to be holding Monday although several similar cease-fire attempts have failed. The partial pause in fighting comes as Israel appears to be winding down its ground operations in Gaza. The "humanitarian window" was agreed to allow aid through to Gaza but Israel's military said the cease-fire would not apply to areas where troops were still operating. The military said it would respond to any attacks. The cease-fire is due to be called off at 10 a.m. ET. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the group was skeptical about the Israeli truce announcement. "We do not trust such a calm and call on our people to take caution," Zuhri said. A cease-fire announced Friday morning unraveled after a few hours following heavy fire in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli media are reporting Monday that there has been an attempted alleged terrorist attack in Jerusalem after a tractor apparently rammed into a city bus. At least one person was killed and another wounded, according to United Hatzalah, an Israeli rescue organization. In 2008 a similar attack carried out by an East Jerusalem Arab left 3 Israelis dead and 30 wounded.

Since the weekend, Israel has been winding down its ground operation that started July 17 to destroy tunnels it says are used by Hamas to carry out attacks. The bulk of Israel's troops in Gaza have now been pulled out as its mission to destroy Hamas tunnels nears completion, the military said. However, it has kept up its heavy aerial bombardments of Gaza. Early Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed Daniel Mansour, a commander of the Islamic Jihad group, a close ally of Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. Gaza police said Israeli air, tank and navy gunboat fire targeted houses, agricultural plots and open areas. Israeli jet fighters destroyed three mosques, nine houses and a warehouse for construction material, police said.

Gaza's Health Ministry says that since the conflict started on July 8 more than 1,800 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians. The Israeli military says that at least 60 of its soldiers have been killed in fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under international pressure to halt the fighting because of the heavy civilian death toll. On Sunday, U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon called an Israeli airstrike on a school that killed 10 people a "moral outrage and a criminal act" and demanded a quick investigation. '