Israel confirmed on Sunday the entry into force of a truce with the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad at 11:30 p.m. local time (2030 GMT) on the third day of hostilities that left dozens dead in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office said it “can confirm that a ceasefire will take effect tonight at 11:30 p.m.”.
“If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel reserves the right to respond firmly,” he added in a statement, thanking Egypt “for its efforts” to mediate.
In Gaza, where it is well established, Islamic Jihad confirmed that it would “cease hostilities” from that time, but also warned that it reserved “the right to respond to any (news) Israeli aggression.
The truce agreement provides, among other things, “Egypt’s commitment to work for the release of two prisoners” from Islamic Jihad in the hands of Israel, the Palestinian group said.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority based in the occupied West Bank, hailed in a statement Egypt’s “tireless efforts” which have contributed to “calming things down and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of this aggression (Israeli )”.
The Israeli offensive “exposes to the whole world the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians in Gaza”, estimated Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the armed Islamist movement Hamas, in power in Gaza.
“Furthermore, it underscores that normalization with the Israeli occupation and its integration into the region poses a great threat to the Palestinian people and their rights,” he said in a statement, referring to the normalization of relations. between Israel and Arab countries.
It was the arrest last Monday in the occupied West Bank of Bassem Saadi, a leader of Islamic Jihad in this Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel, which led to this current outbreak of violence.
The Israeli authorities justified their first strikes Friday on the Gaza Strip by their fears of reprisals from this Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade.
Since Friday, 43 Palestinians have died in strikes, including 15 children, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Islamic Jihad responded by firing rockets into Israel.
This confrontation is the worst since that which opposed Israel in May 2021 to armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, which in 11 days left 260 dead on the Palestinian side, including fighters, and 14 dead in Israel, including a soldier, according to local authorities.
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