Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday agreed to "give a chance" to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire to end a week of bloodshed in and around Gaza, a statement from his office said.

"A short while ago Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with [US] President Barack Obama and agreed to his recommendation to give a chance to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire and thereby give an opportunity for the stabilisation of the situation and a calming of it," it said.