Once again, the Palestinians have shown themselves to be unreliable when it comes to ceasefire agreements or peace. Minutes after the ceasefire came into effect, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resumed firing missiles and rockets at the population in Israel. The Israel Defense Forces have already stated that they will retaliate, and only silence will ensure silence in the region.
Over 1,200 rockets, six senior officials eliminated, two killed by gunfire from Gaza: five days after the start of Operation “Shield and Arrow,” with the simultaneous elimination of three senior members of the Islamic Jihad from the air, the ceasefire came into effect at 10:00 PM. Admittedly, after that, fire was fired from Gaza towards settlements in the Gaza enclave, and the IDF attacked rocket launchers – but at least for now, it seems that the operation has truly ended. The last alarm was heard in the Gaza enclave in the region at 11:11 PM.
About an hour after the ceasefire came into effect, reached through Egyptian mediation, Israel officially acknowledged its existence for the first time. The head of the MLA, Tzachi Hanegbi, on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and expressed Israel’s appreciation for Egypt’s efforts to achieve a ceasefire. Hanegbi made it clear that Israel’s response to the Egyptian initiative means “peace will be met with silence, and if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do whatever it takes to protect itself.”
Heavy bombardment in Gaza minutes before the ceasefire According to a report by Al Jazeera, according to the agreement, “both sides commit to stopping attacks on civilians, destroying homes, and harming people.” The Islamic Jihad was quick to say that this is indeed an Israeli commitment to cease targeted countermeasures. “We will abide by the agreement as long as the Israeli enemy does,” said Jihad senior official Muhammad al-Hindi, and the organization’s spokesperson, Tarek Salmi, told Al Jazeera, “The resistance has managed to force the Zionist enemy to stop the killings. If the enemy carries out a killing or some kind of bombing, the war will start again.” The joint military forces in Gaza, which include the Islamic Jihad and also Hamas – which did not actively join the fighting – announced shortly after 10:00 PM that “the round of fighting, resistance, and steadfastness has ended, but our resistance is stronger and more aggressive. The will to fight has not receded and will never recede.”
Source: IsraelHayom and YneNews
