Israel and Palestinian militias in Gaza have agreed to a ceasefire

Israel and Palestinian militias in the Gaza Strip agreed on Saturday to an expected cease-fire starting at 19:00 GMT, after five days of intense escalation that left 35 people dead, the vast majority of Gazans, and extensive damage in the impoverished enclave.

The agreement, brokered by Egypt, includes a commitment to “cease attacks on civilians and stop demolishing houses,” the Egyptian state channel exclusively reported.

“Egypt calls on both sides, Palestinian and Israeli, to respect the cessation of hostilities”added by the same source.

In the meantime, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (YIP) who is in Cairo and requested anonymity confirmed to various television stations and Arab media that the militia had approved the ceasefire.

The source specified that the YIP has not yet issued an official statement “and that the next few hours will be crucial”.

This announcement was made at the same time as a volley of rockets was fired from the Gaza Strip, to which the Israeli army responded almost immediately with new bombardments of the enclave.

Rumors of an imminent, brokered ceasefire Egypt, UN and Qatar, They circulated for several days, but both sides in the conflict claimed that the talks had become “very difficult”, apparently because of Israel’s refusal to stop the killings of senior YIP commanders, who are considered terrorists by Israel, the United States and the European Union. Union.

This new war escalation began on Tuesday, when Israel activated the operation “Shield and Arrow” with the targeted killing of several YIP leaders in intensive bombings.

Since that day, the military has successfully attacked 371 YIP targets – including its members’ homes and military installations – while the Islamist group has fired 1,234 missiles from the Strip, including rockets and mortars, most of which landed in unpopulated terrain or were intercepted by anti-aircraft System.

A total of 33 Gazans were killed – at least 15 civilians including 7 children – and 147 injured, according to the latest count from the enclave’s Health Ministry.

On the Israeli side, there were two casualties: an elderly woman was killed Thursday when a rocket hit her building in Rehovot, and a Gaza resident with a work permit in Israel was killed by shrapnel Thursday while grazing near the Strip.