Isreal and Hamas have declared a ceasefire agreement to end 11 days of blood-letting encounters that cost many lives and destruction.
The ceasefire initiative was brokered by Egypt with the help of the U.S administration and approved by the UN yesterday to end the 11 days engagement on senseless war.
Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, said it had also agreed with the Egyptian proposal, which came into force at 2 a.m. local time.
“The Palestinian resistance will abide by this agreement as long as the occupation is committed,” said Taher al-Nounou, a media adviser to the head of the Hamas political bureau, referring to Israeli forces.
In a statement seen by Nyamilepedia, the conflict has taken a steep toll. Israel pounded Gaza with airstrikes and artillery fire, causing extensive destruction and killing 232 Palestinians, including at least 65 children, local health officials said.
Hamas’s ferocious rocketing left 12 dead in Israel, two of them children, and sent residents of much of the country repeatedly fleeing for shelter.
In the hours leading up to the start of the cease-fire, the two sides continued to trade barrages, and air raid sirens repeatedly sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. But Hamas rocket fire stopped about 10 minutes before the 2 a.m. deadline, and Israeli airstrikes also ceased.
But Israeli officials said the cease-fire agreement called only for the immediate halt to military operations. The security cabinet statement emphasized that the deal entailed a “mutual and unconditional cease-fire.” Members of the cabinet speaking later to Israeli media said no concessions had been made on Jerusalem.
Speaking at the White House, Biden commended Netanyahu for deciding to end the military campaign.
“These hostilities have resulted in the tragic deaths of so many civilians, including children, and I send my sincere condolences to all the families, Israeli and Palestinian, who have lost loved ones,” Biden said.
The president repeated his support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas attacks and said the United States would help Israel replenish its missile defense system, which military officials say had intercepted most of the rockets fired across the border.
Biden added, “I believe the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy.”
Isreal and Palestine have been engaging in war for conservative eleven in what has been described by security analysts as the worst conflict ever since 2014.
