This Sunday's gospel contains the vivid image of the "heavens being torn open" during Jesus' baptism at the hands of John the Baptist, but in the Middle East, sadly, the image offers an apt description of skies torn open by war.

As Israel continues its bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group Hamas continues to send rockets into southern Israel. By midweek, however, prospects for a ceasefire were increasing, as Israel responded favorably to a joint French and Egyptian initiative. "The challenge now is to get the details to match the principles," Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said.

The development came as Israel halted military operations in Gaza for three hours Wednesday to aid humanitarian efforts. The lull was the first of what an Israeli spokesman said would be a daily ceasefire to allow Gazans to "get medical attention, get supplies . . . whatever they need." News agencies reported that Gaza residents rushed out into the streets during the lull to stock up on food and visit relatives in hospitals.

Israel and Hamas have been under pressure to accept a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which began on December 27. Israel wants to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel and to halt Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza via Egypt, while Hamas says any ceasefire deal must include an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Little official detail has been given about a French-Egyptian proposal, which is backed by the U.S. and U.N., but diplomats say it centers on measures to halt weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza coupled with moves to ease the blockade.

Israel has been criticized by aid agencies who have warned of a mounting humanitarian crisis for the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, who are unable to escape from the conflict because of Israel's blockade. Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. relief agency UNWRA, said the move did not go far enough. "When you are trying to feed 750,000 people a day in Gaza as we are, you need a permanent ceasefire. You can't do that in a three-hour window," he said.

The World Bank also warned on Wednesday of a looming public health crisis in Gaza because of damage to its sewage system and a shortage of clean drinking water.

Israel's decision to facilitate "humanitarian corridors" followed one of the deadliest days since the offensive began last month, with more than 130 people killed on Tuesday, including as many as 40 people, many of them children, killed by Israeli mortar fire as they sought shelter in a U.N. school in northern Gaza.

More than 600 Palestinians are believed to have been killed since Israel began its offensive. Palestinian health ministry officials say at least 195 of those killed were children. Since the start of its military operation in Gaza, Israel has lost seven soldiers, of whom four apparently were victims of mistaken Israeli fire.

Source: Articles by the BBC and Steven Erlanger for the New York Times