Israel, Islamic Jihad agree to ceasefire

Israel and Islamic Jihad agreed to a ceasefire on May 13, after days of violence that have claimed the lives of at least 35 people – almost all of them Palestinians.

The ceasefire was scheduled to take effect at 10 pm local time (3 pm ET), said Egyptian officials in Gaza, who helped negotiate it, but it was unclear if it will take hold or last, CNN reports. Rockets continued to be fired from Gaza in the minutes after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, a CNN producer in the strip heard.

More than an hour after the time the ceasefire was due to take effect, sirens continued to sound in Israel, warning of incoming rocket fire, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched more airstrikes on targets in Gaza, minutes before the ceasefire was due to come into effect.

The head of Israel’s National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on May 13 night and expressed Israel’s appreciation for Egypt’s vigorous efforts to bring about a ceasefire, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. Hanegbi was acting on the guidance of Netanyahu, the statement said.

Hanegbi said Israel’s response to the Egyptian initiative means “quiet will be answered quietly, and if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do everything it needs to do in order to defend itself.”

Hamas, the militant Palestinian movement that runs the Gaza Strip, issued a statement praising Palestinian resistance factions after the ceasefire appeared to take hold.

Hamas “hails the Joint Operations Room of the Palestinian Resistance Factions for defending the Palestinian people against the most recent Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qasem said.

He added that “the unity of the Palestinian resistance is evidence of the Israeli occupation’s failure to provoke strife within the resistance.”

In a statement, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland welcomed the ceasefire and urged “all sides” to observe it.

“I look forward to the immediate restoration of humanitarian access and all social and economic measures to support Palestinian livelihoods in Gaza,” he added.

The violence this week left at least 33 Palestinians dead in Gaza and at least two people in Israel – an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man from Gaza working in Israel.

Word of the agreement came near the end of a day of intense fighting. A rocket launched from Gaza killed a Palestinian man working in Israel and seriously wounded another, Israel medical authorities said Saturday, as cross-border fire showed little signs of easing.