A truce was agreed on Saturday between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic ‘Jihad’, after five days of clashes that left 35 dead.
The UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process welcomed this Sunday the truce reached on Saturday between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic ‘Jihad’, after five days of clashes that resulted in 35 deaths.
I welcome the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel,” Tor Wennesland said in a statement, calling on the parties involved to respect the truce and congratulating Egypt, which acted as mediator, “for its efforts to help restore the calm”.
Tor Wennesland said he was “deeply saddened” by the dead and injured and regretted that “children and women” were among them.
The official also stated that he “looks forward to the restoration of humanitarian access and other social and economic measures to support the livelihood of Palestinians in Gaza.”
The White House has also reacted to the truce, also praising the role of the Egyptian government in the negotiation.
U.S. officials worked closely with regional partners to achieve this resolution to hostilities, with the goal of preventing further casualties and restoring calm to Israelis and Palestinians,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Jean said late Saturday. Pierre.
Despite the ceasefire commitment, Israel returned to shell the Gaza Strip two hours after it came into effect, in response to two ‘rockets’ launched after the start of the truce.
“The army is currently attacking the Gaza Strip,” an Israeli military spokesman confirmed in a brief statement.
Technically, both sides violated the ceasefire that ended five days of escalating warfare, in which 34 Palestinians and one Israeli were killed.
The agreement included a commitment to “stop attacking civilians and homes” and entered into force at 10:00 p.m. local time on Saturday (7:00 p.m. GMT and 8:00 p.m. Lisbon time).
Although the ceasefire was not respected, the possibility of containment by both parties and the escalation of the conflict, triggered on Tuesday when Israel carried out the “Shield and Arrow” operation, with the aim of killing senior officials, cannot be ruled out. . of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (JIP).
Muhamed al-Hindi, a senior JIP leader who traveled to Cairo for the talks, said the organization, classified as a terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union, “would respect the ceasefire agreement as long as the Israeli enemy fulfill it. with that.”
For his part, Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi thanked Egypt and confirmed that the country had agreed to a ceasefire, but warned that it would “continue to do whatever is necessary to defend itself” if it were targeted by new attacks. .
Since Tuesday, Israel has attacked 371 Palestinian Islamic ‘Jihad’ targets, including members’ homes and military installations. The JIP, for its part, fired 1,234 projectiles from Gaza, most of which exploded in unpopulated areas or were intercepted by the anti-aircraft system.
This morning, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that the military operation in the enclave “passed the test” in the eyes of the international community.
The analysis of international reactions, the minister continued, “shows that Israel received broad support for its right to self-defense,” in contrast to “the broad condemnation of rocket fire” into Israeli territory from Gaza.
Source: Observadora
