Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, May 5, 2019. (Flash90/Abed Rahim Khatib)
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, though Israel has not made a formal announcement.
By World Israel News Staff
A ceasefire went into effect at 4:30 a.m. on Monday morning between Israel and Hamas.
Though it made no formal announcement, the IDF signaled it had agreed to a ceasefire as it declared it was removing protective restrictions on Israeli citizens starting at 7:00 a.m. Hamas issued a brief ceasefire statement on its Al-Aqsa radio.
The fighting, which started Friday night, came to an abrupt halt with the last air raid siren warning Israelis to take shelter being heard at 2:30 a.m. in the Eshkol region in Israel’s south, Ynet news reports.
Israel’s transportation department said that all roadblocks in the south have been opened and that train lines were returning to normal. Schools, which initially had been cancelled for Monday, announced there would be classes today.
This latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas has been the worst since Israel’s 2014 Operation Protective Edge, prompted by the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by Hamas. Over 700 rockets were fired at Israel by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.
Four Israelis were killed, including 21-year-old Pinchas Menachem Prezuazman, 58-year-old Moshe Agadi, 47-year-old Zaid al-Hamamdeh, and 60-year-old Moshe Feder. Israel’s Kan news reports that 145 Israeli citizens were injured, some seriously. The numbers are considered high in comparison to other rocket barrages.
Palestinian medical officials claim that 29 Palestinians were killed, among them 11 terrorists, The Times of Israel reports.
According to AFP, an Islamic Jihad terrorist leader said that the ceasefire is based on Israel lifting its blockade, easing fishing limits and fuel and electricity infrastructure improvements.
On Monday morning, Hamas announced that “any calm in which Israel does not commit to lifting the siege will collapse.”
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