Israel and Hamas agree on ceasefire, ending the 11-day conflict

A ceasefire came into force in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Friday morning after Egypt brokered an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt 11 days of conflict.

Palestinians poured on to the streets of Gaza soon after the truce began, while a Hamas official warned that its hands were "on the trigger". Israel's military later said it was removing nearly all emergency restrictions on movement throughout the country. Both Israel and Hamas have claimed victory in the conflict.

A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet had "unanimously accepted the recommendations to accept the Egyptian initiative for a bilateral ceasefire without any conditions, which will take effect later."

Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad then confirmed the ceasefire in a statement, saying it would come into force at 2:00 am on Friday (23:00 GMT on Thursday).

A barrage of rockets fired from Gaza into Southern Israel and reported IDF (Israeli Defence Force) strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip continued leading up to the ceasefire, however skies have remained quiet since the ceasefire began at 2 am on Friday morning.

At least 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, have been killed in the Israeli bombardment. On the Israeli side, 12 people, including two children, have been killed in the rocket attacks by Hamas.

Israel has said at least 150 militants were among those killed in Gaza, whereas, Hamas has not given casualty figures for its fighters. The Israeli military says more than 4,300 rockets were fired towards its territory by militants and that it struck more than 1,000 militant targets in Gaza.

However, some Israeli politicians and lawmakers have expressed disappointment at the unconditional ceasefire.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi thanked US President Joe Biden for his role in the success of the Egyptian brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. US President Joe Biden said the ceasefire brought "genuine opportunity" for progress.

The UN General Assembly had also met on Thursday to discuss the issue, with many of the speakers portraying the Palestinians as victims of an aggressive Israel. UN General Secretary Guterres called out both Hamas and the IDF, saying that both had committed war crimes.

The fighting began on 10 May after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem that culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes.

Source: jpost.com, timesofisrael.com, aljazeera.com, bbc.com, hamodia.com

Written by Siddhant Sharma