Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a ceasefire without approval of his Cabinet and amid warnings that Hamas would soon resume attacks.

Officials acknowledged that the Egyptian-arranged ceasefire did not include demands by Netanyahu, particularly the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip. They said the agreement on Aug. 26 between Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Israel would not last more than several weeks.

“In this reality, the defense establishment will have no choice but to prepare for the next round, which will be soon,” Housing Minister Uri Ariel said.

Officials said the ceasefire agreement stemmed from heavy Israeli air strikes on Hamas and Jihad headquarters around Gaza City. They said Netanyahu, who refused to put the ceasefire accord to a Cabinet vote, had responded to heavy pressure from the United States.

“The targeted assassinations have caused Hamas in the last week to covet a ceasefire,” Science Minister Yaakov Peri, a former security chief, said.

The ceasefire was said to have angered communities near the border with the Gaza Strip. Community leaders said they would not recommend the return of at least 20,000 residents who fled their homes during the 50-day war.

“I don’t care what they’re saying in the government or what they’re saying in Hamas,” Haim Yellin, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, said. “I will call on residents to return only when I feel that there is a true ceasefire.”

For its part, Hamas and Jihad portrayed the ceasefire as a victory. They said the agreement called for the lifting of the siege from as well as talks for the construction of a sea port in the Gaza Strip.

“We’re going to build our port and our airport, and if they attack our port, we will attack theirs and if they attack our airport, we will attack theirs again,” Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, deemed close to the military command, told a rally on late Aug. 26.

The United States urged Israel and Hamas to comply with the terms of the ceasefire. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington would work with other countries for a “major reconstruction initiative” in the Gaza Strip.

“As soon as calm is restored, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the people in Gaza must be accelerated, and the United States and the international community are fully committed to supporting this effort,” Kerry said.

  agrees to ceasefire with no Israeli demads, Haim Yellin, Hamas claims victory as Netanyahu agrees to ceasefire under U.S. pressure, John Kerry, Mahmoud Zahar, pressured by U.S., Uri Ariel, Yaakov Peri