Egypt confirms Israel-Hamas truce starts Thursday

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt said on Tuesday a ceasefire it has been trying to broker between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza will begin on Thursday morning.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said "military activities" will stop by 6:00 a.m. (11 p.m. EDT Wednesday). A Palestinian official in Gaza confirmed the details.

"Both sides have pledged to halt all hostilities and all military activities against each other," Zaki said.

The truce is important to Egypt, which does not want to be viewed as aiding the Israeli blockade on Gaza or see Islamist militants storm its border as Hamas gunmen did in January, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to cross into Sinai.

Israel stopped short of confirming the timing of what it said would be an informal arrangement to halt fighting.

Zaki said the Jewish state described the deal as informal because it does not want to recognize the Hamas Islamist movement, which has ruled the coastal strip since routing the forces of President Mahmoud Abbas in June last year.

"What is said by both sides is not important, what is important is the implementation," Zaki told Reuters.

Asked if Egypt believed both sides would honor their commitments, he said: "We hope so. What else can we do?"

(Reporting by Alaa Shahine; Editing by Matthew Jones)