The Gaza truce is a ray of hope in the darkness. Both sides must remember that | Martin Kettle

The deal divided the Israeli cabinet, and likely Hamas too - for now it suits their interests, but this is a very fragile pause

Observing events from outside the region, one habitually hesitates. Nevertheless, it feels clear that the four-day truce between Hamas and Israel, with the exchange of prisoners that is woven into it, is better than what preceded it.

It will bring home some abducted Israelis and will save some Palestinian lives, though not enough in either case. It involves the kind of political concessions without which conflict becomes endless. It is a cheering success for the diplomacy that brokered it. It brings a pause. And it is a precedent.

Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist