After three days of fighting, Israel and Palestinian terrorists maintained a ceasefire overnight.
The truce arranged by Egypt was not broken by isolated weapon fire from both sides in the moments leading up to and immediately following the deadline on Sunday night.
The worst flare-up since an 11-day battle in May 2021 has claimed at least 44 lives.
Leaders of the US and the UN pleaded with both sides to uphold the ceasefire.
US Vice President Joe Biden applauded the cease-fire and urged the parties “to properly execute [it] and to guarantee fuel and humanitarian supplies are flowing into Gaza.”
He also requested the prompt investigation of reports of civilian deaths.
Over the course of Sunday, Egypt, which has previously served as a go-between between Israel and Gaza, brokered the cease-fire.
However, the Israeli military stated that it started attacking Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza as soon as it went into effect late on Sunday in retaliation to rockets that had been fired shortly before. A few stray rocket launches from Gaza were also reported by Israeli media in the moments following the deadline.
However, as the night went on, there were no new reports of violence.
Israeli assaults on locations in the Gaza Strip, which the Israeli military claimed were in reaction to threats from a terrorist organization, marked the beginning of the most recent hostilities. After Israel detained a top PIJ member in the occupied West Bank, there were days of unrest that followed.
The 44 deaths reported in the most recent violence were verified to include 15 minors as of Sunday evening, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The health ministry in Gaza has attributed the deaths of Palestinians and the injuries of more than 300 persons to “Israeli assault.”
Israel said on Saturday that PIJ militants fired a stray missile that killed many children in Jabalia, blaming the organisation for at least part of the casualties inside Gaza.
The ceasefire agreement was reached in response to worries over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where health experts warned that hospitals barely had enough gasoline to power generators for another two days.
In response to Israel’s violence against our people, PIJ spokesperson Tareq Selmi remarked, “We welcome the Egyptian efforts that had been exerted to cease the Israeli onslaught.”
According to Israel, if the truce is broken, it “maintains the right to respond violently.”
A week ago, Bassem Saadi, who was reportedly the head of PIJ in the West Bank, was detained by Israel. The most recent conflict took place shortly after that.
He was detained in the Jenin region as part of an ongoing campaign of arrests following a spate of attacks by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians that claimed the lives of 17 Israelis and two Ukrainians. The Jenin neighbourhood produced two of the assailants.
The funerals of those murdered in attacks on Rafah, in the south of the territory, drew sizable crowds on Sunday. Among those dead was senior PIJ leader Khaled Mansour, the second-highest ranking terrorist to perish. The West Bank city of Nablus has also seen protests in favour of Gaza.
One of the most powerful militant organisations operating in Gaza, PIJ, is supported by Iran and has its headquarters in Damascus, the Syrian capital.
It has been accountable for several assaults on Israel, including shootings and missile fire.
Following the execution by Israel of a PIJ leader who Israel said was preparing an impending attack, Israel and PIJ engaged in a five-day confrontation in November 2019. 34 Palestinians lost their lives in the fighting, along with 111 others, and 63 Israelis required medical attention.
Israel said that 25 of the dead Palestinians were militants, including those hit as they were getting ready to fire rockets.
