But it minced no words about the victims. "This short war has been, as President Obama might put it, a teachable moment," it said. "A pity the education came at such a high price. And that, once more, all the wrong people -- the civilians on both sides -- were asked to foot the bill."

Over the eight days of conflict, Palestinians counted 163 dead and 1,225 wounded in the wake of 1,500 Israeli strikes, Gaza's Health Ministry said.

Hamas' military wing, the al Qassam brigade, said it fired 1,573 rockets toward Israel during the hostilities, including three shot toward Jerusalem.

In addition to the six Israeli fatalities, 200 others were wounded.

A spokesman for Netanyahu told CNN on Thursday that Hamas' stance toward Israel harms the ability to negotiate.

"You must remember, Hamas, unfortunately, is the enemy of peace," said the spokesman, Mark Regev. "Hamas doesn't want to negotiate. Hamas says that any Palestinian who negotiates with Israel is a traitor to the Palestinian cause."

At the same time, Regev said Israel has called on Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks and was hoping for a positive response soon.

At the Gaza City rally, Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath of Fatah blamed Israel for the division of loyalties between the two groups.

He called for unification to thwart "what the enemy is wanting to do" and passed on greetings from Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

"Thank God, through you, we were able to push back this naked aggression that targeted Gaza and its people," Shaath said, adding that "we should crown this victory by ending the division and expanding the national unity."

Egyptian politician Sayyed al-Badawi, president of the moderate Wafd Party, also congratulated the crowd, saying, "You have broken the will of the Zionist entity -- you have made them feel uncertain and insecure."

The agreement calls for both sides to move toward opening border crossings to facilitate the movement of people and goods.

On Thursday, some of the Israeli soldiers who had been moved to Gaza's border for a potential ground invasion packed their gear to leave.

Residents of Ashkelon, within rocket range of Gaza's border, expressed skepticism about whether the cease-fire would hold, noting that similar agreements have proved short-lived. Some said they would have preferred that Israel's military stage a ground invasion to destroy the militants' rocket capabilities.

Under the cease-fire, talks were to begin Thursday on easing economic restrictions on Gaza.

Since the cease-fire was declared, three rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel, the IDF said Thursday. Two of the three landed in open areas, and Israel's defense system intercepted the third.

Israeli officials' earlier assertions citing five to 12 missiles were incorrect, the IDF said.

A senior Obama administration official said Morsy had been "very constructive" and "very pragmatic" in his dealings with his U.S. counterpart. He and Obama developed a "relationship of trust and were able to work through some of these issues," the official said.

The cease-fire calls for Israel to halt all acts of aggression on Gaza, including incursions and the targeting of people, according to Egypt's state news agency. It also calls for the Palestinian factions to cease all hostilities from Gaza against Israel, including the firing of rockets and border attacks. Gazans could see an easing of border restrictions.

Regev said the agreement calls for "complete and total cessation of all hostile activity initiated in the Gaza Strip."

"For us, that's victory. That's what we wanted," he said.

The fighting was ignited by the November 14 assassination by Israel of Ahmed al-Jaabari, the head of Hamas' military wing. Israel said its intent was to end rocket attacks on southern Israel from inside Gaza by degrading Palestinian capabilities.

How Middle East has changed since last Gaza conflict

On Friday, Gaza was quiet again. But no one, on either side of the border, was beating their swords into ploughshares.