Islamic Jihad reaches a cease-fire with Israel

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A leader of the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza announced late Saturday that a cease-fire deal had been reached with Israel to end five days of heavy fighting. But shortly before the deal was to take effect, Israel reported intense Palestinian rocket fire toward southern and central Israel, and said it was striking targets inside Gaza.

Mohamad al-Hindi told the Al Kahera Wal Nas channel that the Egyptian-brokered deal would go into effect at 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).

“Now, this agreement has been reached thanks to continuous Egyptian effort. We appreciate this effort,” he said.

There was no Israeli comment on the cease-fire announcement. But the Egyptian station had earlier reported a deal was imminent.

Egypt frequently acts as a broker between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. A similar announcement last week by Egypt unraveled amid continued fighting.

The fighting has killed 33 Palestinians inside Gaza, including at least 13 civilians. Two people were killed by rocket fire in Israel, including an 80-year-old Israeli woman and a Palestinian man from Gaza who had a permit to work in Israel.

The latest violence erupted Tuesday when Israeli airstrikes killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders. Israel said the airstrikes were in response to a previous burst of rocket fire the previous week and that its attacks have been focused on Islamic Jihad targets. But residents in Gaza said homes of people uninvolved in fighting also had been struck.

In a reminder of the combustible situation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military raided the Balata refugee camp near the northern city of Nablus, sparking a firefight that killed two Palestinians. In a separate incident near the northern city of Jenin, Israeli police said they shot and killed a suspected Palestinian assailant who ran toward soldiers wielding a knife.

Meanwhile, Israeli military earlier Saturday bombed an apartment belonging to Islamic Jihad commander Mohammed Abu Al Atta, among other targets including rocket launchers, it said.