Three minutes. The truce came into effect at 11:30 p.m. (local time) (8:30 p.m. GMT and 10:30 p.m. in Paris) immediately shaken, Sunday August 7. In a statement sent at 2033 GMT, the Israeli army said it was striking “a large number of targets belonging to the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip”, And this “in response to rockets fired into Israeli territory”.
A few minutes earlier, Israel had confirmed the entry into force of a truce with the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, on the third day of hostilities which left dozens dead in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office said “to be able to confirm that a ceasefire will take effect this evening at 11:30 p.m.”. “If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel reserves the right to respond strongly.” he had warned, thanking in passing Egypt “for his efforts” of mediation.
Earlier in the evening, the Islamic Jihad group had also confirmed the conclusion of a truce with Israel thanks to this Egyptian mediation.
“A short time ago, a formula was found for the Egyptian announcement of the truce agreement, which includes Egypt’s commitment to work for the release of two prisoners”Mohammed Al-Hindi, head of the political wing of Islamic Jihad, said in a statement.
These two prisoners are Bassem Saadi, the leader of Islamic Jihad arrested Monday in the occupied West Bank, and Khaled Awawdeh. No indication was given immediately on the terms of this truce or on the date of its entry into force.
Israel has been conducting since Monday August 1 a “preemptive attack” against Islamic Jihad and “neutralized” its leaders “military” in Gaza. Jerusalem claims to have arrested around 40 members of the Islamist organization in the West Bank, including its leader Bassem Saadi. Islamic Jihad retaliated by firing “more than 100 rockets” to the capital.
Forty-one Palestinians, including fifteen children, have died in Israeli strikes since Monday, according to a report from the Gaza Ministry of Health established on Sunday. This assessment is disputed by the authorities of the Jewish state.