Ceasefire Between Palestinians and Israel Takes Effect in Gaza

Gaza City, Gaza Strip — Israeli and Palestinian militants A ceasefire between the two sides took effect late Sunday, to end violence that has lasted for nearly three days. It killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

The flare-up is the worst fighting between militant groups in Israel and Gaza since Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war last year that has plagued the blockade. Years of devastation and misery have worsened in Gaza.

The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire went into effect at 11:30 pm. (4:30 PM EDT). Israeli strikes and militant rockets continued in the minutes leading up to the start of the ceasefire, and Israel said it would "respond strongly" if the ceasefire was violated. Aircraft have been hitting targets in Gaza since Friday, where Iran-backed Palestinian jihadist militant groups have fired hundreds of rockets against Israel. The danger of cross-border fighting turning into full-scale war remained until a ceasefire was reached. Israel says some of the dead were killed by rocket misfires.

Gaza's ruling Hamas group probably fears Israeli reprisals and fears of revoking economic deals with Israel, including Israeli work permits for thousands of Gaza residents. and remained a bystander.

Israel launched its operation on Friday by attacking an Islamic Jihad leader, and launched another attack on another high-profile leader on Saturday.

His Khaled Mansour, the second Islamic Jihad commander, was killed in an airstrike on an apartment building in Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza late Saturday, killing two other militants and civilians. Five people also died.

Mansur, commander of Islamic Jihad in southern Gaza, was in the apartment of a member of the group when the missile struck, flattening a three-story building and badly damaging nearby homes.

``Suddenly, without warning, the house next door was bombed, and in the blink of an eye, everything was black and covered with smoke and dust.

Another neighbor, Ahmed al-Qaissi, said his wife and son were among the injured, with shrapnel injuries.

Israeli forces hit "Islamic Jihad rocket launch posts" as Mansur's funeral began in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. said he suspected that Smoke was visible from the strike as Gaza rattled and exploded. Israeli airstrikes and rocket attacks continued for hours, with sirens blaring across central Israel. As the call to prayer at sunset echoed across Gaza, sirens blared as far north as Tel Aviv.

Israel said some of the deaths during this round were his 1 in the Jebariyah refugee camp in northern Gaza, where six of his Palestinians were killed on Saturday. It said it was caused by erroneous rocket fire, including the incident. On Sunday, two men were killed when a projectile hit a house in the same area of ​​Jebaliyah. The Palestinians held Israel responsible, but Israel said it was investigating whether the area had been hit by a false rocket.

Israel's Ministry of Defense said mortars fired from Gaza hit the Erez border crossing into Israel and are used by thousands of Gazans every day. Mortars damaged the roof and shrapnel hit the entrance to the hall, the ministry said. The crossing was closed during the fighting.

Rafah's offensive was the deadliest yet in the current round of fighting launched by Israel on Friday by targeting and killing an Islamic Jihad commander in northern Gaza.

Israel said it took action against militant groups because of specific threats of imminent attacks, but did not give details. Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, an experienced diplomat but with no experience overseeing war, launched an offensive three months before the general election and campaigned to keep his job. did

In a statement on Sunday, Rapid said its forces "will continue to strike targets in Gaza in a pinpointed and responsible manner to minimize harm to non-combatants." . Rapid said the strike that killed Mansur was an "extraordinary achievement".

"The operation will continue as long as necessary," Rapid said.

The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on violence for Monday. China, which presides over the Council this month, has scheduled sessions at the request of the United Arab Emirates, which represents Arab countries on the Council, as well as China, France, Ireland and Norway.

Israel estimates that about 15 militants were killed in the airstrikes.

Islamic Jihad has fewer fighters and supporters than Hamas, and little is known about its weapons. Both groups seek the destruction of Israel, but have different priorities and Hamas is constrained by its demands for governance.

The Israeli military said militants in Gaza had fired about 580 rockets into Israel. The military said its air defense systems intercepted many of them, two of his planes being shot down and fired towards Jerusalem. Islamic Jihad has fewer fighters and followers than Hamas.

Air raid sirens sounded in the Jerusalem area for the first time since last year's Israeli-Hamas war.

Jerusalem is usually a flashpoint during cross-border fighting between Israel and Gaza. On Sunday, hundreds of Jews, including seditious ultranationalist lawmaker Itamar Ben Gubir, marched to the sensitive holy site of Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as an exalted sanctuary. I visited Police said the visit ended successfully under close police protection.

Such demonstrative visits by Israeli hardliners seeking to underscore Israel's sovereignty claims over disputed Jerusalem have sparked violence in the past. The Holy Land sits on the fault line of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is central to the conflicting narratives of Palestinian and Israeli Jews.

In Palestinian cities and towns in the West Bank, Israeli security forces said he had detained 19 people during overnight raids on suspicion of belonging to Islamic Jihad.

On Sunday, Hamas still appeared to be out of action. Groups have strong incentives to avoid another war. Last year's Israeli-Hamas war, one of his four major conflicts over the past 15 years, and several smaller ones, has devastated his 2.3 million Palestinian residents in impoverished areas. caused damage.

Since the last war, Israel and Hamas have kept their cool in exchange for work permits and narrow border blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt when Hamas seized territory. A tacit understanding was reached 15 years ago. Israel has issued her 12,000 work permits to the Gaza worker, and he expects to give another 2,000 permits.

Gaza's lone power plant shut down at noon Saturday due to a fuel shortage. Israel has continued to close crossings to Gaza since Tuesday. New disruptions have left Gazans with only four hours of electricity a day, increasing reliance on private generators and jeopardizing the region's chronic power crisis amid peak summer heat. It has turned into.

— Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer (New York) contributed.