After Israel accepted a truce proposal offered by Egypt To resolve the current escalation of attacks in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad ratified this Sunday that an agreement was reached, which also mentions the release of two prisoners. The pact entered into force at 5:30 p.m. in Argentina.
The truce was confirmed by the Israeli government and specifies a cessation of the attacks, which according to the latest figures released by international agencies left some 41 Palestinians – including 15 children – killed since Friday.
“The head of the National Directorate of Public Diplomacy can confirm that a ceasefire will enter into force tonight at 11:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. Argentine time),” said a statement from the Israeli government.
“If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel reserves the right to respond firmly. We will not allow any disturbance to the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel“he added in the statement, thanking Egypt “for its efforts” to mediate.
A barrage of missiles fired from Gaza into Israel. Photo: AFP/Mahmud Hams.
The Israeli statement came shortly after the cessation of hostilities was announced by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and confirmed by Egyptian sources.
“An Egyptian truce agreement has been concluded, which includes Egypt’s commitment to act in favor of the release of two prisoners, (Basem) Al Saadi and (Khalil) Awawdeh,” Mohamed Al Hindi, head of the political arm, said in a statement. of Islamic Jihad.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, nine other people died this Sunday because of the Israeli attacks. The ministry reported “41 martyrs, including 15 children and four women, and 311 wounded.”
In the hours before and even after the first announcement of a ceasefire agreement for tonight, gunfire from the Gaza Strip continued to set off anti-aircraft alarms in Israeli communities near the border, raising questions about whether the parties whether or not they will respect what was agreed upon.
Palestinians inspect their house after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Photo: AP/Fatima Shbair.
The Israeli digital newspaper Ynet revealed that the security establishment of the Jewish State considers that the objectives of the current offensive against Islamic Jihad have already been achieved, which brought the government closer to accepting a ceasefire. This is the murder of two referents of the jihadist militias.
If fulfilled, the agreement would put an end to the bloodiest escalation of violence in the area in more than a year, which began on Friday with a strong Israeli “pre-emptive” offensive on suspected Jihad targets in Gaza arguing an “imminent threat” of attack by the group in response to the arrest on Monday of one of its leaders during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
This Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed Khaled Mansour, commander of Islamic Jihad in southern Gaza. Mansour was in the apartment of a member of the group when the missile hit, bringing down the three-story building and severely damaging nearby homes.
The Government of Egypt, which carried out the rapprochements, has traditionally been the main interlocutor between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian militias. The same Friday night, hours after the first Israeli bombardments on Gaza, he announced that he was trying to mediate between the parties to stop the escalation
The truce comes amid a resurgence of the historic conflict, where the clashes that started on Friday are the worst between Israel and the armed organizations in Gaza since the eleven-day war in May 2021.
In that conflict, 260 people on the Palestinian side and 14 in Israel died, according to the authorities. On that occasion, Egypt played a decisive role in getting the Israeli Army and the Palestinian militias in Gaza to agree on a truce after eleven days of fighting.
This new escalation has already deprived the small enclave of 362 km2 and its 2.3 million inhabitants of its only power plant, which had to close due to lack of fuel, due to the Israeli blockade of entry into the territory since Tuesday.
This Sunday, the Al Qods brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, announced that they launched rockets towards Jerusalem. Like 97% of the projectiles fired from Gaza, were intercepted by the Israeli missile shield, according to the army of the Hebrew State.
The start of the fighting
The clashes began on Friday, when Israel Killed Prominent Islamic Jihad Commander in Series of Strikes which, according to the authorities, were intended to prevent an imminent attack.
Palestinians carry the body of one of the victims of the Israeli attacks (Photo EFE/EPA/HAITHAM IMAD)
Hamas, a larger armed group that rules Gaza, appeared to be staying out of the conflict for now and limited its response.
Israel and Hamas fought a war just a year ago, one of four major conflicts and smaller battles they have waged for 15 years, and one that has exacted a heavy toll on the impoverished territory where two million Palestinians live.
The Israeli army said a stray rocket fired by Palestinian militants on Saturday afternoon had killed several civilians, including children, in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya. The army said it concluded “without a doubt” after an investigation that the fire was due to a failed Islamic Jihad launch. There was no official Palestinian comment on the incident.
A Palestinian medical worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said that at least six people, three of them children, had been killed in the blast.
Israeli strikes on Saturday killed a 75-year-old woman and wounded six others who were preparing to attend a wedding. The airstrikes also destroyed several homes in the Gaza Strip, some of them belonging to Islamic Jihad members.
The Israeli Army reported this Sunday that At least 585 rockets were fired from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (YIP) since the current spike in tension began on Friday, which has so far left 29 dead – all Palestinians – and more than 250 wounded.
Of the total projectiles launched from Gaza, 470 crossed into Israel and 115 hit inside the Strip itself before crossing the separation fence.
With information from AFP and EFE