Fragile truce in Israel
Hamas agrees to a cease-fire
Hamas and other Gaza militant groups said Tuesday they accepted an Egyptianbrokered cease-fire after launching hundreds of rockets into Israel over the past 24 hours and weathering a wave of punishing Israeli airstrikes.
Israel’s security cabinet also accepted following a seven-hour meeting, the Times of Israel reported.
The cease-fire was announced by a group of Gaza militant groups, including Hamas, whose leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier signaled a readiness to halt the latest round of fighting.
He said the Islamic militant group would stop its rocket fire if Israel halts its airstrikes.
The terms of the deal appeared to be modest. Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad militant group, said each side would promise quiet in exchange for quiet.
The fighting was triggered by a botched Israeli undercover raid into Hamas-ruled Gaza late Sunday, in which seven Palestinian militants and a highranking Israeli officer were killed.
International mediators have appealed for restraint, hoping to avert another war.
The Israeli military said some 460 rockets and mortar rounds have been launched from Gaza since Monday afternoon, with more than 100 of them intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
Israel said it has struck some 160 militant targets in Gaza, including a strike that destroyed Hamas’ TV station. Three other buildings believed to be connected to Hamas were destroyed, it said.
On Tuesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said three Palestinians in their 20s were killed in separate airstrikes, raising the number killed since the Israeli offensive began to seven, including five militants. At least 25 people have been wounded.
Israeli medical officials said a 48-yearold man was found early Tuesday under the rubble of a building hit by a rocket in the southern city of Ashkelon.
Relatives in the West Bank town of Halhoul identified the man as Mahmoud Abu Asbeh, a Palestinian laborer who had been working in Israel. He left a wife and six children behind.
“Everyone in town is sad. It’s God’s will and there’s nothing we can do about it,” said his cousin, Jihad Abu Asbeh.
Nearly 30 people have been wounded in Israel, three critically, according to medical officials.