Hamas accepts ceasefire after Israeli strikes

JERUSALEM — Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers said Saturday they had accepted a ceasefire ending a massive Israeli onslaught on militant positions after a soldier was shot dead, once again pulling the sides back from the brink of a full-fledged war.

Israel and Hamas have fought three such wars over the past decade, and Hamas agreed to the second such ceasefire in a week under heavy Egyptian and international pressure.

Even after last week’s ceasefire ended the fiercest exchange of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes since the 2014 war, incendiary kites and balloons continued to float from Gaza into Israel, setting fire to farmland.

Israel has stepped up strikes since then to signal its new threshold for engagement after months of largely refraining from acting.

Israel says it has no interest is engaging in another war with Hamas, but says it will no longer tolerate the Gaza militant campaign of flying the incendiary devices into Israel.

On Friday, a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier along the border — the first casualty it has sustained in four years — and Israel unleashed an offensive it says destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets, including three battalion headquarters. Four Palestinians died, three of whom were Hamas militants.

“The attack delivered a severe blow to the Hamas’ training array, command and control abilities, weaponry, aerial defence and logistic capabilities along with additional military infrastructure,” the Israeli military said, adding that the strikes “will intensify as necessary.”

Israel’s top leadership convened late into the night Friday at military headquarters to discuss potential actions.

In a brief statement early Saturday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the movement accepted the ceasefire brokered by Egyptian and United Nations officials and that calm had been restored.