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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Israel, Hamas Reach Truce To End Fighting

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A truce has been reached to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, all sides said Tuesday.

Palestinian and Egyptian officials announced the deal. A senior Israeli government official said Israel “once again” accepted Egypt’s proposed ceasefire.

Throughout the conflict, Israel has openly accepted Egypt’s ceasefire proposals and slammed Hamas for not doing so.

Egypt, which has brokered negotiations, said on state-run media that the ceasefire will go into effect at midnight local time (5 p.m. ET).

But Hamas officials said it was to begin at 7 p.m. local time.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is not part of Hamas and lives in the West Bank, thanked “Egypt and everyone who supported all the efforts that resulted in this agreement to end the aggression.”

“Together, we will rebuild our free country,” he added.

As news of the possible deal broke, a flurry of violence was reported. Warning sirens blared in southern Israel, indicating rocket attacks from Gaza. Israeli emergency services reported that one person was critically wounded and two others were seriously wounded.

Separately, three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, south of Gaza City, according to Ashraf el-Qedra, spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

After the Palestinian announcement of a deal, celebratory gunfire could be heard in Gaza.

Role of Abbas

Abbas is seen as a more moderate Palestinian leader, more likely to make concessions to arrive at a peace deal with Israel.

He is with the Palestinian faction Fatah, the longtime rival of Hamas’, which has run the government in the West Bank. The two factions have battled and kidnapped each other’s militants in the past but also repeatedly announced plans for a unity government, including one this year.

50 days into Israeli operation

Tuesday marks the 50th day of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, aimed at stopping rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and weeding out tunnels used by militants in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces reported that militants destroyed a home in Ashkelon and fired a rocket that landed near a kindergarten in Ashdod.

“Our soldiers remain prepared to defend Israel from every threat,” the IDF said on Twitter.

More than 2,130 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. It’s not clear how many were civilians. The United Nations estimates that more than 70% were civilians, but Israel reports a higher number of militants among the dead.

On Sunday, the IDF accused Hamas of routinely exaggerating civilian deaths “for propaganda purposes.”

Sixty-seven Israelis — 64 of them soldiers — have been killed, the United Nations reports. A foreign worker in Israel was killed as well.

A 4-year-old boy became Israel’s latest civilian victim Friday when a mortar shell exploded in the parking lot of a kibbutz, Israeli rescue services said.

On Monday night, Israel blasted a second residential tower in Gaza. The Health Ministry said 20 people were injured in the airstrike.

The Israeli military said the building housed a Hamas “command and control center.” Palestinians evacuated the building after warnings from Israel, the IDF said.

Hamas acknowledges militants killed teens

Israel’s operation followed the June abductions and killings of three Israeli teenagers who were on their way home from school in the West Bank. At the time, Israel blamed Hamas.

On Friday, a Hamas official admitted that the act was carried out by Hamas militants. The official said the attackers did not tell their leaders.

After the boys were buried, a Palestinian teen was killed. Israeli authorities arrested the suspects, saying it was believed to have been a revenge killing.

Also Friday, Hamas killed 18 of its own, accusing them of being informants for Israel.

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