Gaza truce holding despite rocket fire
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A cease-fire between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza appeared to be holding Thursday despite sporadic rocket fire, after two days of intense fighting that killed at least 34 Palestinians, including three women and eight children, and paralyzed parts of Israel.
Before the truce was announced, a pre-dawn Israeli airstrike killed eight members of the same family in Gaza. Among them were five children, the youngest 7 years old.
It was the deadliest single attack since a bruising 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed no link to the family and the Israeli military offered no details on the strike.
The fighting began after Israel killed a senior commander of the Iranian-backed militant group who Israel said was behind a string of rocket attacks and was planning a cross-border infiltration. Israel hailed the operation as a victory, defending its policy of targeting militants in their homes despite civilian deaths and vowing to continue the tactic.
Islamic Jihad said it had succeeded in getting Israel to agree to a cease-fire based on several demands, including a halt to targeted killings of the group’s leaders.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab al-Berim said the Egyptian-brokered deal went into effect at 5:30 a.m. An Israeli military spokesman tweeted that the Gaza operation “is over.” Some restrictions were lifted on residents of southern Israel and traffic returned to the streets of Gaza.
But after hours of calm, a barrage of five rockets set off air raid sirens in southern Israel. No group claimed responsibility, and Israel did not immediately respond. Sirens sounded again late Thursday, when a rocket fired from Gaza was intercepted by Israeli defenses, the military said.
The rare targeted killing by Israel sparked the heaviest fighting with Gaza militants since May. Islamic Jihad fired some 450 rockets toward Israel, while Israel responded with scores of airstrikes. However, Gaza’s ruling Hamas stayed out of the latest escalation, adhering to understandings brokered by Egypt after earlier waves of violence.
Israel typically does not publicly acknowledge deals with militant groups, and on Thursday officials said only that Israel would halt fire as long as the militants did the same. The military claimed it had killed some 25 militants and struck a tough blow to Islamic Jihad facilities.