Global Courant 2023-05-14 01:03:11
TEL AVIV — Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have agreed on a ceasefire that ends five days of fighting between the two sides, a US official and an Israeli official told NBC News Saturday.
The ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and will take effect at 10 p.m. local time.
“Now this agreement has come about thanks to continuous Egyptian efforts. We appreciate these efforts,” Mohamad al-Hindi told the Al Kahera Wal Nas channel.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other officials.
Cairo called on all parties to abide by the agreement, Egyptian television channel Al-Qahera News reported.
The fighting killed 33 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 13 civilians. Two people were killed by rockets in Israel, including an 80-year-old Israeli woman and a Palestinian man from Gaza who had a permit to work in Israel.
The latest violence broke out on Tuesday when Israeli airstrikes killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders. Israel said the airstrikes were in response to an earlier burst of rockets last week and that the strikes targeted Islamic Jihad targets. But residents of Gaza said homes belonging to people not involved in the fighting were also hit.
In remembrance of the flammable situation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army raided the Balata refugee camp near the northern city of Nablus, sparking a firefight that left two Palestinians dead. In a separate incident near the northern town of Jenin, Israeli police said they shot and killed a suspected Palestinian assailant who ran toward soldiers with a knife.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army bombed an apartment belonging to Islamic Jihad commander Mohammed Abu Al Atta among other targets, including rocket launchers, earlier Saturday, it said.
Islamic Jihad militants fired several rockets into southern Israel, where tens of thousands of Israelis were ordered to stay close to safe rooms and bomb shelters. Hundreds of residents near the border were evacuated to hotels further north.
Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said Israel had made “considerable achievements” during the fighting and said the army was ready to continue its campaign.
“We are prepared to continue the targeted strikes and attacks in a precise and increasing manner,” he added.
Hostilities broke out on Tuesday when Israel last week attacked and killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders, who it said were responsible for firing rockets into the country. At least 10 civilians, including women, young children and uninvolved neighbors, were killed in those initial attacks, which prompted regional condemnations.
In recent days, Israel has launched more airstrikes, killing other senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroying their command centers and missile launch sites.
On Saturday, Palestinians ventured out to assess the damage done by Israeli warplanes and salvage what they could. A man carefully pulled documents from under the rubble. Another carried away a mattress.
Four homes in densely populated residential areas were reduced to dust before dawn during the attacks. The Israeli military claimed that the targeted homes belonged to or were used by Islamic Jihad militants. The residents denied the military’s claims and said they had no idea why their homes were being targeted.
“We don’t have missile launch pads at all. This is a residential area,” Awni Obaid said, standing next to the rubble of his three-story home in the central city of Deir al-Balah.
The nearby home of his relative, Jehad Obaid, was also razed to the ground. He was about a hundred yards away when his apartment was bombed.
“I felt like throwing up because of the dust,” he said. “This is extraordinary hate. They claim they don’t attack children, but what we see is madness, destruction.”
According to the military, Islamic Jihad retaliated by firing more than 1,200 rockets in the direction of southern and central Israel. On Friday, the group escalated its attacks and fired rockets at Jerusalem, setting off air raid sirens in Israeli settlements south of the disputed capital.
Most of the rockets fell into Gaza, landed in open areas or were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. But a missile penetrated a missile defense on Thursday and sliced through a house in the central town of Rehovot, killing an 80-year-old woman and injuring several others.
Hamas, the larger militant group that has waged four wars against Israel since taking control of Gaza in 2007, has praised Islamic Jihad attacks but, according to Israeli military officials, has remained on the sidelines, narrowing the scope of the conflict.
While the de facto government is held responsible for the appalling conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Hamas has recently tried to contain the conflict with Israel. Islamic Jihad, on the other hand, a more ideological and unruly militant group married to force, has taken the lead in the past few battles with Israel.
– Sanchez and Goldman reported from Tel Aviv; and Burke of Pittsburgh.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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