Life in Gaza began returning to normal on Thursday with a public holiday to mark a ceasefire that ended a violent eight-day confrontation with the Israeli military.

After days and nights cooped up at home, their buildings rocked by an unrelenting Israeli bombing campaign and the sound of outgoing Palestinian rocket fire, residents were eager to reclaim their hometowns and their lives.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday that Israel may resume its attacks on Gaza at any time if a truce that ended a week of bloodshed fails to hold.

The ceasefire "can last nine days, nine weeks or more, but if it does not hold we will know what to do, and then of course we shall consider the possibility of resuming our (military) activity in case of shooting or provocation," he told public radio.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday that Israel had "failed in all its goals" after a Gaza truce deal came into effect, while thanking Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi for his support.

"After eight days, God stayed their hand from the people of Gaza, and they were compelled to submit to the conditions of the resistance," Meshaal said.

U.S. President Barack Obama thanked his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday for his role is negotiating a planned truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

"The president thanked President Morsi for his efforts to achieve a sustainable ceasefire and for his personal leadership in negotiating a ceasefire proposal," the White House said in a statement.

A ceasefire came into effect Wednesday in and around Gaza after a week of cross-border violence between Israel and Palestinian militants that killed at least 160 people.

Gaza City's streets were dark and deserted in the minutes after the ceasefire began at 1900 GMT, and Israeli drones could be heard overhead, but soon after people poured out onto the streets to hail the "victory."

The United States condemned a bus bombing that injured 17 people in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and undermined attempts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza, branding it a "terrorist attack."

"These attacks against innocent Israeli civilians are outrageous," the White House said, reaffirming Washington's "unshakeable commitment to Israel's security and our deep friendship and solidarity with the Israeli people.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for talks with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, an airport official said, amid ongoing efforts to reach a truce deal in Gaza.

She is expected to go straight into a meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Kamel Amr and with Morsi, who is playing a key role in mediating a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Iran has supplied military aid to the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza locked in a conflict with Israel during which it has fired missiles at Tel Aviv for the first time, the parliament speaker said Wednesday.

"We are proud to defend the people of Palestine and Hamas ... and that our assistance to them has been both financial and military," Ali Larijani said without elaborating, in remarks reported by parliament's website, ICANA.ir.

The March 14 general-secretariat warned on Wednesday against any “adventure” that would open a new front in southern Lebanon in light of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Following its weekly meeting, the general-secretariat announced in a statement “full solidarity with the Palestinian people that are being targeted by Israel and paying the price of its brutality.”

Pope Benedict XVI says he is praying for victims of the conflict between Israel and Gaza militants and gave his encouragement for efforts to obtain a cease-fire and negotiations.

He told his weekly public audience Wednesday that "hate and violence are not the solution for problems," receiving applause from pilgrims in the Paul VI auditorium.