Gaza ceasefire in effect after days of fighting
A ceasefire took effect in and around the Gaza Strip on Saturday after five days of cross-border exchanges that have killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza and two people in Israel. The truce was due to take effect at 9pm local time, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said. But in the final 30 minutes running up to the deadline, dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel, prompting renewed air strikes. Most of the rockets were intercepted by Israeli air defences. Egypt, a longtime mediator in Gaza, secured the agreement of both Israel and Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad to its latest ceasefire proposal, an Egyptian security official said. "Israel's National Security Adviser Tsahi Hanegbi... thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and expressed the State of Israel's appreciation for Egypt's vigorous efforts to bring about a ceasefire," a statement from the Israeli primme minister's office said. He said Israel's response to the Egyptian initiative means "quiet will be answered by quiet, and if Israel is attacked or be threatened it will continue to do everything it needs to do in order to defend itself". A Palestinian source confirmed Islamic Jihad's agreement. "We want to thank Egypt for its efforts," Islamic Jihad political department official Mohammad al-Hindi said. He has been in Cairo since the fighting erupted on Tuesday. On Saturday, Israel had again pounded Gaza with air strikes targeting Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad following a new barrage of rocket fire into Israel to mark the funeral of its military commander Iyad al-Hassani, who was killed on Friday. (AFP)