According to CNN , the Gaza militant factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad reached a ceasefire with Israel on Saturday after a 24 hour increase in violence.
Within the past day, around 200 rockets and mortars were launched toward Israel. The Israel Defense Forces are calling the incident the largest bombing in Gaza since 2014.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesperson for Hamas, told reporters Saturday that “since the start of the Israeli strikes on Gaza, various meditation efforts (led by Egypt) to stop the aggression have succeeded in bringing calm and stopping this aggressive escalation.”
Islamic Jihad confirmed this statement through their spokesperson, Daoud Shihab, who added, “There have been great efforts…to bring back calm to Gaza. We have agreed to the Egyptian efforts and agreed to the calm and ceasefire as of 8 p.m. local time, if the Occupation [Israel] commits to stopping its aggression.”
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office offered no comment in light of the ceasefire agreement.
Tzvika Haimovic, the chief of Israel’s aerial defense command, reported to CNN that the country’s Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted at least 20 projectiles, leaving others to land in open areas. In return, the Israeli military claims to have “targeted dozens of military sites in four Hamas military compounds in Gaza, including two Hamas tunnels, weapon depots, training facilities and command centers.”
Israeli police reported bombs exploding in four different sites near the Gaza perimeter, sending bomb disposal experts to these various locations. In one of those sites, three Israeli citizens suffered from shrapnel wounds after a rocket landed on their house in Sderot. Israel medical services spokesperson Zaki Heller reported that the family’s wounds were not serious.
On Friday, over 220 Palestinian protestors were injured when “the Israeli military used live fire and tear gas on protesters,” and only two fatalities have been reported. The two Palestinian men that died were 15-year-old Othman Hellas and 20-year-old Mohamed Shorab. The Israel Defense Forces claim that protestors threw explosive devices at the Gaza border fence, injuring an Israeli officer.
While Israel insists that Hamas began the orchestration of these protests, Palestinian protestors have accused Israel of using excessive force against them.
Nickolay Mladenov, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, urged both Israel and Hamas to de-escalate the violence after “Israel restricted the passage of goods through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.” After explosive kites flew into Israel from Hamas, however, Israel pushed back, agreeing to only let humanitarian supplies cross through “pending approval on an individual basis.”