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A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Friday morning, hours after both sides agreed to end more than 10 days of fighting that claimed hundreds of lives.
The truce, mediated by Egypt, began at 2 a.m. in Israel, at 7 p.m. Thursday in the eastern United States, as people on both sides of the division nervously watched to see if it would hold up, The New York Times reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced late Thursday that his security cabinet had voted unanimously to accept the Egyptian proposal, and officials from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, They confirmed that it had also accepted it.
But each side warned that its fulfillment could depend on the actions of the other.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, after more than a week conflict that left hundreds dead, most of them Palestinians.
The truce marks the end of immediate bloodshed, but will likely leave both sides further apart than ever.
During the last 11 days, Israeli airstrikes killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.
At least 12 people in Israel, including two children, have been killed by Palestinian militant fire from Gaza, according to the IDF and Israel’s emergency service.
In a speech broadcast from the White House, President Joe Biden lamented “the tragic death of so many civilians, including children” and praised Israeli and Egyptian officials.
Noting that he had spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu six times during the crisis, he said: r the decision to end the current hostilities in less than 11 days. ”
The consequences of the confrontation
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have carried out a devastating aerial bombardment of Gaza, targeting Hamas’s vast network of tunnels and other infrastructure. Some 72,000 Gazans have been displaced, UNICEF said Wednesday.
Palestinian militants have shot more than 4, 000 rockets against Israel, according to the IDF. The longest pause in rocket fire from Gaza, which was more than eight hours, took place during the night of Thursday, as Israeli military action continued.
International pressure to protect civilians
The truce follows a series of diplomatic attempts to press for a ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden and his administration had flagged messages about Israel in recent days, including Biden’s fourth call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday, reported CNN.
Biden also spoke with Egyptian President Fattah Al Sisi , while Secretary of State from the United States, Antony Blinken, spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, and reiterated that the United States expected to see a “de-escalation on the way to a ceasefire. ”
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres , added his voice to calls for an immediate ceasefire in a passionate speech in New York. “If there is hell on Earth, it is the lives of the children in Gaza today,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “Even wars have rules. First of all, civilians must be protected. ”