In a telephone conversation Friday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Friday to express Israel's appreciation for the role Egypt played in brokering a ceasefire that ended 11 days of hostilities with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian news outlets reported.
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According to the reports, Ashkenazi emphasized that Israel would uphold its end of the ceasefire and discussed with Shoukry steps to be taken to rehabilitate the destruction caused in the Gaza Strip during the next stage of negotiations for a longer-term truce.
Additional reports said that Ashkenazi and Shoukry underscored the importance of coordinating between Israel and Egypt, as well as with the Palestinian Authority and international officials, both in ensuring stability and renewing channels of communication that could lead to peace.
The end to Operation Guardian of the Walls has seen Egypt restored to a position of influence in dealing with the Hamas political and military leadership, both in Gaza and abroad. According to high-ranking officials in Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate, the Egyptians proved that "no one can replace them" in dealing with the Hamas leadership.
When Israel suggested that the ceasefire take effect at 2 a.m. Friday, the Egyptian mediators, led by Gen. Abdel Halak, who is in charge of the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio in Egypt's intelligence services, secured a commitment from Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other armed factions in Gaza that not only would they hold fire starting at the agreed-upon hour, they would also refrain from a final rocket onslaught, something that has marked previous rounds of escalation between Israel and Hamas.
Hours before the ceasefire took effect, the IDF thwarted a major Hamas attack, Channel 12 News reported Friday evening.
The outlet added that if the attack had been successful, it could have scuttled the agreement between the two sides, likely leading to prolonged violence.
According to the report, the IDF identified a Hamas terror cell as it made its way through an underground tunnel, apparently with the intention of emerging in Israel and attacking soldiers.
The Israeli Air Force carried out a precision strike and eliminated the terrorists, the report said.
According to Channel 12, Israel's new underground barrier would have prevented them from crossing and attacking civilians, but would still have left troops vulnerable to attack.
Meanwhile, PA President Mahmoud Abbas spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about recent developments between Israel and Hamas, including the ceasefire. Abbas stressed the need to "stop Israeli aggression in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, and stop attacks by settlers."
Abbas also cited the need to rebuild Gaza and start Israeli-Palestinian peace talks immediately.
On Saturday, the UN Security Council is welcoming the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas rulers for full adherence to the cessation of hostilities.
Saturday's statement was approved by all 15 members of the council. It said the council "mourned the loss of civilian lives resulting from the violence" and "stressed the immediate need for humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population, particularly in Gaza."
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The statement further said it was urgent to restore calm and "reiterated the importance of achieving a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders."
Council members backed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for the international community to work with the United Nations in developing a "robust package of support for a swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery."
The council recognized the important role played by Egypt in achieving the ceasefire as well as other regional countries, the UN, the Quartet of Mideast mediators – the UN, US, European Union and Russia – and other international players.
After touring rubble-strewn areas of Gaza hit by air strikes during fighting between Israel and Hamas, the top U.N. aid official in the region appealed to both sides on Saturday to observe a ceasefire as aid teams assess the damage.
Also Saturday, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories Lynn Hastings toured the Gaza Strip and pressed both sides on the ceasefire.
"Last night was calm, and we hope obviously that it is going to hold and everybody just needs to stand down and not to engage in any provocative moves," Hastings said in Gaza City.
Standing by the rubble of residential buildings, Hastings said she had seen more than just damaged infrastructure.
"I have been speaking to the families here and what they all said is that they have no hope, they feel that they have no control of their lives and their situation is, one woman said, helpless," she told Reuters.
US President Joe Biden has said Washington will work with UN agencies on expediting humanitarian aid for Gaza "in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal."
The IDF reportedly thwarted a major Hamas attack just hours before a ceasefire took effect that has tentatively ended more than a week of fighting, Hebrew-language broadcaster Channel 12 reported Friday evening.
The outlet added that if the attack had been successful, it could have scuttled the agreement between the two sides, likely leading to prolonged violence.
According to the report, the IDF identified a Hamas terror cell as it made its way through an underground tunnel, apparently with the intention of emerging in Israel and attacking soldiers.
The Air Force carried out a precision strike and eliminated the terrorists, the report said.
Israel's new underground barrier would have prevented them from crossing and attacking civilians, but would still leave troops vulnerable to attack, according to Channel 12.
