Ceasefire takes effect
A GAZA Strip ceasefire came into effect early Thursday, an Egyptian source and a senior Islamic Jihad official told AFP, following a spike in violence and bloodshed in the Palestinian enclave.
The “ceasefire agreement comes as a result of Egypt’s efforts” and has been endorsed by “Palestinian factions including Islamic Jihad”, said the top Egyptian official. An Islamic Jihad source confirmed the agreement to AFP.
According to the official, the agreement stipulates that Palestinian factions must ensure a return to calm in Gaza and “maintain peace” during demonstrations, while Israel must stop hostilities and “ensure a ceasefire” during demonstrations by Palestinians.
The agreement, which entered into force at 5:30am (0330 GMT), came after the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip rose to 34 since Tuesday after Palestinian officials said eight members of the same family had been killed.
Following the targeted killing of a top militant in Gaza, the two sides had been exchanging fire since Tuesday, and Israel’s military said it recorded more than 350 incoming rockets.
The Israeli military had been targeting what it said were Islamic Jihad militant sites and rocket-launching squads in the coastal enclave.
Eight members of the Abu Malhous family, including five children and two women, were killed in an Israeli strike on their family home in Deir al-Balah in the southern Gaza Strip, the Palestinian health ministry said, updating an earlier toll of six deaths.
The previous day, Israel said it targeted two Islamic Jihad militants preparing to fire anti-tank missiles.
Air raid sirens wailed and fireballs exploded as air defence missiles intercepted rockets, sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters.
In Gaza, residents surveyed damage and mourned the dead outside a mortuary and at funerals.
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN envoy for the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday afternoon, airport officials said, following reports he was to hold talks aimed at halting the fighting.
The UN and Egypt were instrumental in mediating previous ceasefires between Israel and Gaza-based militants.