Israel and Islamic Jihad agree on a truce in Gaza

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza have agreed to a truce that will take effect at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT), Palestinian officials said, signaling the end of the worst of the crossing episode. A fire on the border since the 10-day war in 2021.

Egypt, which brokered the ceasefire, called on all parties to abide by the agreement, Egyptian news channel Al-Qahira said.

The text of the agreement, seen by Reuters, stated that “in light of the agreement of the Palestinian and Israeli sides, Egypt announces that a cease-fire has been reached between the Palestinian and Israeli sides,” and added that the truce would begin at 10 p.m.

“The two sides will abide by the ceasefire, which will include an end to the targeting of civilians, the demolition of homes, and an end to the targeting of individuals as soon as the ceasefire enters into force,” the statement said.

There was no immediate confirmation from Israeli officials.

Even as the truce was finalized, both sides continued firing, with sirens blaring in southern Israel and the IDF announcing that it had bombed six Islamic Jihad operational command posts.

Israel launched its latest round of airstrikes in the early hours of Tuesday, announcing that it was targeting Islamic Jihad leaders who had planned attacks in Israel.

In response, the Iran-backed group launched hundreds of rockets, driving 1.5 million Israelis into air raid shelters.

During the five days of the campaign, Israel killed six senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroyed a number of military installations, but the airstrikes also killed at least 10 civilians, including women and children.

(Report: Nidal al-Maghrabi and Maayan Lubel). Edited by William Mallard

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.