Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad they have agreed this Sunday a ceasefire after three days of violent cross attacks leaving a balance of at least 43 Palestinians killed.
“A short time ago, the text of the ceasefire agreement has been agreed,” he reported. Muhammad Al Hindi, who heads the political department of Islamic Jihad in Gaza. The Palestinian spokesman has specified that the truce, which he has had the mediation of Egypt, includes “the commitment to work for the release of two prisoners.”
The pact aims to end the violence in the zonewhich Israel has described as a “preemptive” response to Jihad targets in Gaza in the face of what the Army described as a “imminent threat” of attack by the group. This has launched hundreds of carts towards the Hebrew country as retaliation after the arrest on Monday of one of its leaders during a raid in the occupied West Bank.
So far, according to official figures, Of the 43 Palestinians killed in the attacks, 15 are minors and four are women.. The number of wounded exceeds 300 in Gaza, according to the latest figures released by the enclave’s Ministry of Health. Israel has not reported any deaths, but 20 wounded.
Two Islamic Jihad leaders killed
Before the announcement to cease hostilities, Israel announced that it had killed the leader of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Khaled Mansur in a selective attack in Rafah city. Mansur is the second leader of the organization to die since Friday, when Israel began an offensive.
In that attack, according to the Israeli Army, two other members of the group have also died, including Mansur’s right-hand man. In addition, it is estimated that about 30 people have been injured. According to an Israeli military spokesman, Mansur was one of the main people in charge of launching rockets at Israel during the war escalation of May 2021 and was responsible for multiple attacks against Israelis.
Islamic Jihad has fired more than 900 rockets at Israel in three days
Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive on the Strip, the YIP has launched more than 900 rockets, according to data from the Israeli Army. Of the total projectiles launched from Gaza, 470 crossed into Israel, -although most have fallen in unpopulated areas or were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-aircraft defense system- and 115 hit inside the Strip itself before crossing the separation fence. .
Israel, for its part, has attacked some 140 targets of the group in the Gaza Strip.among which are, allegedly, weapons manufacturing and storage centers, military checkpoints and rocket launch sites belonging to the Islamic Jihad.
Israel believes that the Palestinian organization’s ties to Iran make the group a satellite of Tehran, which is seen by the Jewish state as an existential threat.
The lack of electricity and the blockade intensify the situation in Gaza
The humanitarian situation has worsened in Gaza since the offensive began last Friday. To the bombardments is added the lack of fuel due to the blockade of the border crossings by Israel since last Tuesday, one day after the arrest of Bassam al-Saadi, one of the leaders of the Jihad during a raid in the West Bank.
This weekend the power plant in Gaza also stopped workingwhich is why the more than two million people who live crowded in the area have so only four hours of electricity a day.
Because of this, Palestinian health services could be interrupted in 48 hourshas warned the Ministry of Health of the Strip, while the number of injured does not stop increasing.
Fares Khader, Spanish resident in Gaza: “The situation is very frightening and dangerous”
The government of Spain follows with “concern” the new escalation of violence in Gaza and asks to apply the ceasefire “immediately” to “stop the loss of human lives”. Through a statement, Spain reiterates its firm condemnation of rocket fire, and, although it recognizes “Israel’s right to protect its population”, it also asks that “avoid at all costs causing civilian casualties among the Palestinian population”.
In the last days, The United States, Russia and the European Union have called unsuccessfully to de-escalate hostilities. of the conflict. To this, five countries of the United Nations Security Council have joined – the Arab Emirates, China, France, Ireland and Norway – who have requested a meeting of that body next Monday to “achieve a broad and just peace”, reported the Emirati agency WAM.
The ceasefire has been reached after mediation in Cairo. The Government of Egypt has traditionally been the main interlocutor between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian militias. In May of last year, Egypt played a decisive role in getting the Israeli Army and the Palestinian militias in Gaza to agree to a truce after eleven days of clashes in the worst military escalation between the two since 2014, and then became intensely involved in the reconstruction of the Stripe.