5 days of shelling between factions and Israel left 35 dead
Residents of Gaza are returning to normal life. Others shocked by the rubble
A Palestinian woman sits amid the rubble of her collapsed house. AFP
Girls cry in front of their collapsed house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Reuters
Fishermen return to work on Gaza's beaches AFP
People queue to buy falafel after calm returns to the Strip. AFP
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An Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip ended a five-day fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian factions that resulted in 35 deaths, including 34 Palestinians and one Israeli, and the agreement entered into force last night, and calm returned yesterday morning in the Gaza Strip and Israel, without the sounds of shelling, planes or sirens, and life returned to the streets of the Gaza Strip, which were filled with pedestrians and vehicles, and fishermen sailed with their boats in the coastal sector, while the residents of Gaza destroyed their homes in various areas as a result of Israeli airstrikes.
The latest clashes were the most violent between Gaza and Israel since August 2022, beginning last Tuesday with airstrikes that killed three Islamic Jihad military commanders.
Israel resumed the opening of the crossings for the movement of goods and trade, allowed fuel to flow to the Gaza Strip's only power plant, shops and public services reopened and returned to streets that seemed deserted for days.
Inside the Gaza Strip, people began to gather forces days after Israeli shelling that partially or completely destroyed dozens of homes.
Ritaj Abu Obeid, 12, standing among the wreckage of her room, said: "This is my room where I lived, there were my toys and books that I was studying, there was nothing in the shadow."
Maddah al-Amoudi, 40, one of about 3000,<> fishermen in Gaza who were forbidden to go fishing during the fighting, said: "We will return to life and work and by breathing again, we have no alternative to the sea."
Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi, who was one of the participants in the ceasefire negotiations in Cairo, said the group was committed to the truce agreement as long as Israel would abide by the agreement.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the weekly meeting of his cabinet: "I repeat and say: whoever attacks us and whoever tries to attack us or will try to attack us in the future, his blood is being wasted."
It is not yet clear how long the ceasefire will last. The latest wave of fighting came just a week after another round of nightly confrontations and gunfire that continued even as a truce deal was finalized.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Kan Radio: "We will continue to make every effort necessary with only one thing in mind, which is to serve the security interests of the State of Israel.
The UN envoy to the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, said in a statement: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of life, call on all parties to respect the ceasefire, and eagerly await the return of humanitarian access to Gaza."
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the United States welcomes the announcement of a truce in order to avoid further loss of life and restore calm to both Israelis and Palestinians.