GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas meant to last at least three days and end nearly a month of fighting went into effect in the Gaza Strip this morning.

The truce came ahead of talks in Cairo aimed at brokering a deal that would prevent future violence.

The temporary truce, agreed to by both sides, was to last for 72 hours during which Israel and Hamas are to hold indirect talks in the Egyptian capital.

But wide gaps remain and previous international attempts to broker a temporary halt in the fighting have failed. Hamas wants Israel and Egypt to lift their seven-year-old Gaza border blockade. Israel is reluctant to open Gaza's borders unless Hamas is disarmed.

The situation is still volatile. Just minutes ahead of the start of the truce, shelling still echoed across Gaza and Israel said Hamas fired a heavy barrage of rockets at southern and central Israel.

The war broke out on July 8 when Israel launched airstrikes it said were in response to weeks of heavy rocket fire out of Hamas-controlled Gaza. It expanded the operation on July 17 by sending in ground forces in what it described as a mission to destroy a network of tunnels used to stage attacks.

The fighting has claimed nearly 1,900 Palestinian lives — most of them civilians. The war has also left 67 dead on the Israeli side, all but three of them soldiers.

LOUHAJONG, Bangladesh — High waves and strong currents prevented rescuers from launching a search operation today for a ferry that capsized a day earlier in central Bangladesh, leaving hundreds of passengers trapped inside and feared dead.It was unclear exactly how many people were on board the M.V. Pinak because ferry operators in Bangladesh rarely maintain passenger lists. Authorities and survivors estimated there were about 250-300 passengers, but the figure could not be confirmed.At least 44 passengers swam to safety after the ferry went down Monday morning, but authorities still have not launched a formal rescue operation because of choppy conditions in the Padma River, said Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan.In the hours after the ferry capsized, local residents in fishing trawlers and speedboats tried to reach the site but had to turn back.

KABUL, Afghanistan — A NATO helicopter strike targeting missile-launching Taliban militants killed four civilians in western Afghanistan, an Afghan official said today. NATO said they were investigating the attack.The attack in western Herat province comes as civilian casualties from NATO attacks remain a contentious issue across the country as international troops prepare to withdraw by the end of this year. Almost 200 people protested against NATO in Herat today, carrying the bodies of the dead civilians into the provincial capital and demanding an investigation.The strike happened Monday night in the province's Shindan district, said Raouf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial chief of police. He said Taliban militants launched a missile at an airport nearby, drawing the NATO helicopter's fire. He said the NATO attack killed two men, a woman and a child.