Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group in the Gaza Strip agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire late Saturday, ending five days of intense fighting.
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The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire took effect just after 10 p.m., with a last-minute burst of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes stretching several minutes past the deadline announced by Egypt.
While the calm brought a sense of relief to Gaza's more than 2 million people and hundreds of thousands of Israelis who had been confined to bomb shelters in recent days, the agreement did nothing to address the underlying issues that have fueled numerous rounds of fighting between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi warned that Israel would not let the Palestinian violations of the truce go unanswered.
"Calm will be met with calm, but if Israel is attacked or threatened – it will continue to do anything it has to do to defend itself," Hanegbi said, adding that Israel thanked Egypt for its mediation efforts.
Tensions could quickly resume next week when Israel holds a contentious march through a main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem's Old City. in the annual Flag March to mark the liberation of the city during the Six-Day War.
Still, as the truce took hold, the deafening whooshes of outgoing rockets and booms of Israeli airstrikes was replaced by the honking of cars in Gaza. Streets that had been desolate in recent days quickly teemed with people reveling in the ceasefire, waving Palestinian flags and flashing victory signs from speeding vehicles. Amid the celebration, a fruit vendor used a loudspeaker, enthusiastically promoting his supply of bananas.
PIJ leader Mohamad al-Hindi had told the Al Kahera Wal Nas channel that the Egyptian-brokered deal would go into effect at 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT). "Now, this agreement has been reached thanks to continuous Egyptian effort. We appreciate this effort," he said.
There was no Israeli comment on the cease-fire announcement. But the Egyptian station had earlier reported a deal was imminent. Egypt frequently acts as a broker between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza.
The latest violence erupted Tuesday when Israeli airstrikes killed three senior PIJ commanders. Israel said the airstrikes were in response to a heavy burst of rocket fire the previous week and that its attacks have been focused on PIJ targets. But residents in Gaza said homes of people uninvolved in fighting also had been struck.
Israel and Palestinian terrorists unleashed salvos of fire for a fifth day on Saturday, with the PIJ group launching dozens more rockets and the Israeli military pounding targets inside the Gaza Strip and vowing to step up its campaign.
The first Israeli fatality was on Thursday when a rocket hit a home in Rehovot. On Saturday, Shrapnel from a Palestinian rocket that slammed into an agricultural community in Israel's southern Negev desert killed a Palestinian laborer who had been working inside Israel, Israeli defense officials said. A second Palestinian laborer was badly wounded. There were no immediate reports of casualties Saturday from Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, where so far 34 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials. Over 147 have been wounded.
Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit / Attack on a launching site after mortar fire on Israel
In a reminder of the combustible situation in the West Bank, the Israeli military raided the Balata refugee camp near the northern city of Nablus, sparking a firefight that killed two Palestinians. In a separate incident near the northern city of Jenin, Israeli police said they shot and killed a suspected Palestinian assailant who ran toward soldiers wielding a knife.
Earlier on Saturday, hopes for a cease-fire between Israel and the PIJ were initially seen as fading as the Israeli military Saturday bombed an apartment belonging to PIJ commander Mohammed Abu Al Atta, among other targets including rocket launchers, it said.
PIJ fired several barrages of rockets toward southern Israel, where tens of thousands of Israelis were instructed to remain close to safe rooms and bomb shelters. Hundreds of residents near the border were evacuated to hotels farther north.
PIJ promised a further onslaught. "As assassinations and the bombing of apartments and safe houses continue, the Palestinian resistance will renew its rocket fire ... to emphasize the continuation of the confrontation," the group said. Mortar shells fired by Palestinian terrorists crashed into the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, the Israeli civil defense body said, sharing footage of a fiery explosion at the main passageway into Israel.
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