Hamas accepts cease-fire after Israel’s Gaza attack

Offensive started after sniper killed soldier on border

JERUSALEM — Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers said Saturday they had accepted a cease-fire 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 fullfledged war.

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

Even after last week’s cease-fire 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 off damaging fires to farmlands. Israel has stepped up strikes since then to signal its new threshold for engagement after months of largely refraining to act.

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 Israel Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi, a 21-year-old infantryman, along the border, and Israel unleashed an offensive it says destroyed more than 60 Hamas targets, including three battalion headquarters. Four Palestinians were killed, of whom three were Hamas militants.

“The attack delivered a severe blow to the Hamas’ training array, command and control abilities, weaponry, aerial defense and logistic capabilities along with additional military infrastructure,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

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

In a brief statement Saturday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the movement accepted the cease-fire brokered by Egyptian and U.N. officials and that calm had been restored. Later, the Israeli military announced a return to civilian routine along the border.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday that he was “gravely concerned” about the escalation and called on both sides to step back from the prospect of another conflict.

The recent outburst comes after months of border protests organized by Hamas aimed in part at protesting the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza. Over 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the protests began March 30.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza for over a decade in an attempt to weaken Hamas. The blockade has caused economic hardship. Israel says the naval blockade is necessary to protect its citizens from weapons smuggling.

Israel says it is defending its sovereign border and accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border and attack Israelis.