Shelling continues overnight in Gaza Israel and Hamas have agreed to a UN request to briefly halt hostilities Thursday on humanitarian grounds, after an Israeli strike killed four Palestinian children on a beach, while efforts intensify to secure a formal truce. Ahead of the five-hour pause, due to begin at 0700 GMT, hostilities continued early Thursday with Israel's air strikes, on the 10th day of its campaign, taking the toll to 227 killed and 1,678 wounded, Gaza medical services said. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES