In an effort to put an end to almost three days of bloodshed that claimed the lives of dozens of Palestinians and affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis, a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants went into effect late on Sunday.
The recent flare-up added to the destruction and misery that have long plagued Gaza, which has been under blockade, and was the worst fighting between Israel and Gaza militant groups since Israel and Hamas engaged in an 11-day war last year.
At 11:30 p.m., the Egyptian-mediated cease-fire went into effect (2030 GMT; 4:30 p.m. ET).
Prior to the start of the cease-fire, Israeli attacks and militant rocket fire continued, and Israel warned that it would “respond strongly” to any violations of the cease-fire.
Since Friday, Israeli aircraft have bombarded targets in Gaza, and the militant Palestinian Jihad group, which is backed by Iran, has retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets at Israel.
As long as a cease-fire was not negotiated, there was still a chance that the border clashes would escalate into a full-fledged war.
Israel claims that some of the fatalities were caused by missiles that misfired.
The ruling Hamas party in Gaza stayed out of the fray, possibly out of concern for Israeli retaliation and the potential unraveling of economic agreements with Israel, including Israeli work permits for thousands of Gaza residents, that support its hold on power.
Israel began its operation with a strike on a prominent leader of the Islamic Jihad on Friday, and on Saturday it carried out a second targeted strike on a different leader.
Khaled Mansour, the second Islamic Jihad commander, was killed late on Saturday in an airstrike on an apartment building in the southern Gaza refugee camp of Rafah, along with two other militants and five civilians.
When the missile struck, Mansour, the Islamic Jihad commander for southern Gaza, was inside a member of the group’s apartment.
The missile flattened the three-story building and severely damaged nearby homes.
Wissam Jouda, who lives next to the targeted building, said, “Suddenly, without warning, the house next to us was bombed and everything became black and dusty with smoke in the blink of an eye.”
Another neighbor, Ahmed al-Qaissi, reported that his wife and son were among the injured and had been hit by shrapnel. Al-Qaissi consented to having a portion of his home demolished in order to make room for rescue personnel.
On Sunday, as Mansour’s funeral was starting in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military claimed it was attacking alleged “Islamic Jihad rocket launch posts.” As the explosions from the strikes rumbled Gaza, smoke could be seen coming from them. For hours, central Israel was plagued by Israeli airstrikes and rocket fire. As the call to prayer at dusk began in Gaza, sirens could be heard all the way in Tel Aviv to the north.
Israel claims that some of the fatalities in this round were brought on by errant rocket firing, including one event on Saturday that left six Palestinians dead in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Two males were killed on Sunday when a missile in the same Jebaliya neighborhood struck a residence.
While Israel said it was looking into whether an errant missile had hit the region, the Palestinians blamed Israel.
The Erez border crossing into Israel, frequented daily by hundreds of Gaza residents, was struck by mortars launched from Gaza, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry.
According to the ministry, the mortars damaged the ceiling and the entrance to the hall was struck by shrapnel.
While there is fighting, the crossing has been shut down.
The latest round of warfare was started by Israel on Friday with the targeted assassination of the leader of Islamic Jihad for northern Gaza, and the Rafah attack was the bloodiest thus far.
Israel said that it took action against the terrorist organization in response to specific warnings of an impending assault, but it has not given any more information.
Less than three months before a general election in which he is running for re-election, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, an accomplished diplomat but unproven in leading a war, launched the attack.
Continuing to hit targets in Gaza “in a targeted and responsible fashion to limit to a minimum the damage to noncombatants,” Lapid said in a statement on Sunday.
The attack that killed Mansour, according to Lapid, was “an outstanding feat.”
Lapid promised that the operation would go on for as long as was required.
On Monday, the U.N. Security Council has called an urgent session to discuss the violence.
The United Arab Emirates, who represents Arab countries on the council, as well as China, France, Ireland, and Norway requested the session be arranged, and China, which is now holding the council president, did so in response.
According to Israel, 15 terrorists were killed as a result of airstrikes.
Comparatively speaking to Hamas, Islamic Jihad has fewer militants and followers, and less is known about its armament.
Both organizations want the annihilation of Israel, but they have distinct goals; Hamas is restricted by requirements of government.
According to the Israeli army, terrorists in Gaza launched roughly 580 missiles towards Israel.
Many of them, according to the army’s air defenses, were intercepted, with two of them being launched towards Jerusalem when they were shot down. Compared to Hamas, Islamic Jihad has fewer fighters and followers.
For the first time since the Israel-Hamas conflict last year, air raid sirens were heard in the Jerusalem region on Sunday.
Jerusalem often becomes a hotspot when Israel and Gaza are fighting across the border.
Numerous Jews visited a sensitive sacred site in Jerusalem on Sunday, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, including fiery ultranationalist politician Itamar Ben Gvir.
According to authorities, the visit, which was concluded peacefully and under under police protection.
Violence has already been provoked by such provocative trips by Israeli hardliners attempting to emphasize Israeli claims of sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem.
The sacred place is crucial to the conflicting narratives of Israeli Jews and Palestinians and is located on the fault line of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli security forces claim to have apprehended 19 persons during nocturnal raids in Palestinian villages and cities in the West Bank on the suspicion that they are members of the Islamic Jihad.
By Sunday, Hamas continued to seem to avoid the conflict. The gang has a compelling reason to stay out of another battle.
The 2.3 million Palestinian citizens of the impoverished region suffered a tremendous loss as a result of the Israel-Hamas war last year, one of four major clashes and countless minor skirmishes over the last 15 years.
Israel and Hamas have established secret agreements since the previous conflict predicated on the exchange of quiet for work permits and a minor relaxation of the border blockade put in place by Israel and Egypt when Hamas took control of the region 15 years ago.
Israel has granted 12,000 work licenses to workers in Gaza and has indicated that it may issue another 2,000.
Due to a shortage of fuel, Gaza’s only power plant shut down at midday on Saturday. Since Tuesday, Israel has kept its borders with Gaza closed.
Gazans may now only utilize four hours of energy per day due to the latest interruption, which increases their dependence on private generators and exacerbates the territory’s ongoing power crisis during the height of the summer.