Global Courant 2023-05-14 03:38:13
A ceasefire between Israel and the militant Islamic Jihad group officially came into effect late Saturday night, with an Egyptian-brokered deal meant to end the recent cross-border fire.
“In light of the agreement reached by the Palestinian and Israeli sides, Egypt announces that a ceasefire between the Palestinian and Israeli sides has been reached,” read a text of the agreement that Reuters reviewed.
“The two sides will abide by the ceasefire, which includes an end to attacking civilians, demolition of homes and an end to attacking individuals once the ceasefire comes into effect,” it said. .
An Israeli woman was seen in a bomb shelter in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod on Saturday. (Ohad Zwigenberg/The Associated Press)
Israel’s National Security Adviser thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for Cairo’s efforts, according to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Silence will be met with tranquility and if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do what it needs to do to defend itself,” the statement said.
Islamic Jihad also confirmed the agreement. “We declare our acceptance of the Egyptian announcement and we will abide by it as long as (Israel) adheres to it,” said the group’s spokesman Dawoud Shehab.
As the fighting subsided, the largely deserted streets in Gaza filled with Palestinians.
Some people cheered and honked their horns while others went to the homes of people who died in the fighting to pay their respects.
Firing continued when the armistice was finalized
Even as the ceasefire was finalized, the two sides continued firing, with air raid sirens sounding as far as the outskirts of Tel Aviv and the Israeli army announcing it had hit Islamic Jihad targets in response to rocket fire.
While happy with the news, some Gazans, tired of repeated flare-ups, feared another round of fighting would soon break out.
“We want the ceasefire to be based on principles, not like in the past when people died after a peaceful (ceasefire),” said 43-year-old Munir Marouf.
Smoke rises from an explosion caused by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. (Hatem Moussa/The Associated Press)
Israel launched the latest round of airstrikes in the early hours of Tuesday, announcing that it was targeting Islamic Jihad commanders who had planned attacks in Israel.
In response, the Iranian-backed group fired more than 1,000 rockets, causing Israelis to flee to bomb shelters.
During the five days of the campaign, Israel killed six senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroyed a number of military installations.
At least 10 civilians, including women and children, were also killed in Gaza during the fighting, and two people – an Israeli woman and a Palestinian worker – were killed by Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.
Islamic Jihad rejects coexistence with Israel and preaches its destruction. Top ministers of Israel’s religious-nationalist government are ruling out any state sought by Palestinians in areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
Rockets will be fired from Gaza towards Israel on Saturday. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
