This is a developing story and is being updated.
Terrorists in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night fired heavy barrages of rockets at southern and central Israel, as an Egypt-mediated ceasefire between the sides came into effect at 11:30 p.m. local time.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that a truce had been reached, and thanked Egyptian mediators for their efforts.
A cloud of smoke rises after a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hit an open field near Sderot on Aug. 7, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“If the ceasefire is violated,” the statement qualified, “Israel maintains the right to respond strongly. We will not allow any disruption to the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel.”
According to several media reports, Jerusalem had agreed to an earlier Cairo-brokered truce, but PIJ held up the deal over a demand that Egyptian officials work towards the release of two terrorists jailed in Israel.
The reports also cited Israeli government sources as saying that Jerusalem had previously agreed to a humanitarian pause in the fighting but PIJ rejected the related terms.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was quoted by media as saying on Saturday that his envoys have been engaged “around the clock” with a view to preventing the situation from spiraling out of control.
The Israel Defense Forces’s “Operation Breaking Dawn” entered its third day on Sunday, as PIJ resumed firing rockets into the Jewish state. As of Sunday afternoon, terrorists from Gaza had fired some 800 projectiles towards Israel since hostilities broke out, according to the IDF.
The Iron Dome missile defense system successfully intercepted about 97 percent of the projectiles that were headed for populated regions. About 180 of the rockets fell short in Gaza, killing at least nine people, said the IDF.
The military added that it has struck some 140 assets belonging to PIJ in Gaza since launching “Operation Breaking Dawn” on Friday afternoon.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director reportedly told members of the Security Cabinet on Saturday night that Jerusalem had already achieved most of its objectives in the operation.
