Ceasefire takes hold between Israel, Hamas
Ends barrage of militant rockets, Israeli airstrikes
GAZA, PALESTINIAN TERRITORY— Hamas and other militant groups said Tuesday they had accepted an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire to end two days of intense fighting with Israel that had pushed the sworn enemies to the brink of a new war. The sudden announcement brought relief to a region that had been paralyzed by hundreds of Palestinian rocket attacks in southern Israel and scores of Israeli airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip. But it did not address the deeper issues that pushed Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers toward their latest violence and left doubts about international efforts to forge a broader truce agreement.
Those efforts had appeared to be making progress in recent days as Israel allowed Qatar to deliver financial aid to the cashstrapped Hamas government, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he wanted to avert an “unnecessary” war in Gaza. Hamas, in turn, had scaled back its mass protests that have led to weekly bloodshed along the Israeli border.
But hours after Netanyahu spoke Sunday, an Israeli commando unit on an undercover mission was caught behind enemy lines in Gaza by Hamas militants. Their discovery set off a battle that led to the deaths of seven militants and an Israeli officer, and triggered the heaviest barrage of rocket fire since a 2014 war.
The Israeli military said that Palestinian militants fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel in a 24-hour period, while it carried out airstrikes on160 targets in Gaza. Seven Palestinians, including five militants, were killed, and 26 people were wounded. In Israel, a 48-yearold Palestinian labourer was killed in a rocket strike on an apartment building where he was staying. Nearly 30 people were wounded, three critically.
With air raid sirens wailing throughout southern Israel and the explosions of airstrikes thundering in Gaza, the sides had appeared to be headed to what would have been their fourth war in a decade.
But late Tuesday, Hamas and other military groups issued a joint statement saying they had accepted an Egyptian ceasefire.
The announcement set off celebrations in Gaza City as Hamas supporters declared victory.
In Israel, officials had no comment on the ceasefire claim even as dozens of protesters in the rocket-battered town of Sderot chanted “Disgrace!” at what they saw as the government’s capitulation to militant violence. But after nightfall, both the rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes had stopped. The announcement came shortly after Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet ended a sevenhour discussion on the rising tensions in Gaza.
The Cabinet said it had ordered the military to “continue operations as needed.”
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters at UN headquarters that “we are grateful for the Egyptians who are mediating. The UN Security Council scheduled closed consultations on the Hamas-Israel clashes later Tuesday at the request of Kuwait and Bolivia, UN diplomats said.