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A ceasefire between Israel and the militant Islamic Jihad group officially came into force on Saturday night, with an Egyptian-mediated agreement to end new cross-border fires.
“In light of the agreement between the Palestinians and the Israeli side, Egypt announces that the ceasefire between the Palestinians and the Israeli side has been reached,” the text of the agreement seen by Reuters reads.
“Both sides will abide by a ceasefire that will include an end to the targeting of civilians, house demolitions, and an end to the targeting of individuals when the ceasefire takes effect,” he said.
Israel’s national security adviser thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for Cairo’s efforts, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“Calm will be met with calm 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 stated that we accept Egypt’s announcement and we will comply as long as it is [Israel] remain,” said the group’s spokesman, Dawoud Shehab.
When the fighting stopped, the mostly deserted streets of Gaza filled with Palestinians.
Some people cheered and honked their cars while others headed to the homes of those who died in the war to show their respect.
The firing continued when the ceasefire ended
Even as the ceasefire ended, both sides continued to fire, with air raid sirens sounding as far as the outskirts of Tel Aviv and the Israeli military announcing it had struck Islamic Jihad targets in response to rockets.
Although happy with the news, some Gazans, fed up with repeated flare-ups, fear another round of fighting will erupt soon.
“We want a ceasefire based on principle, unlike the past when it was calm [truce] dead people,” said resident Munir Marouf, 43.
Israel launched its latest airstrikes on Tuesday, announcing that they targeted Islamic Jihad commanders who had been planning attacks on Israel.
In response, the Iran-backed group fired more than 1,000 rockets, sending Israelis fleeing to bomb shelters.
During the five days of the campaign, Israel killed six senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroyed several 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 rockets in Israel.
Islamic Jihad spurns coexistence with Israel and preaches its destruction. The top minister of Israel’s religious nationalist government has rejected any statehood sought by Palestinians in the territories Israel captured in the 1967 war.
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