Israel bombed targets of Islamic Jihad yesterday in Gaza, the Israeli army announced, in a development that threatens the truce in force in the Palestinian sector after two days of clashes between Israel and Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian factions, killing 34 Palestinians and wounding more. Than 100 others.
The Israeli army said yesterday, in a message through the application of «WhatsApp», it «is currently targeting targets for jihad in the Gaza Strip».
The Israeli army, announced on Thursday the killing of «leader» in the «jihad», official Abu Milhos, during a raid carried out before the start of the ceasefire, while the Islamic Jihad denied that Abu Milhos is a leader in it.
An Egyptian official source and a senior Jihad official told AFP that a ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip on Thursday at 05:30 (03:30 GMT).
The Egyptian source said «a truce agreement was reached after the movement agreed to an Egyptian proposal in this regard, and after we were informed of the agreement of the Israeli occupation to the truce».
The UN envoy in charge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nikolai Mladenov, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, in an attempt to mediate in order to reduce the escalation.
"Egypt and the United Nations have done their utmost to prevent a more serious escalation in and around Gaza that could lead to war," Mladenov wrote on Twitter.
About half an hour after the truce began, a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel, witnesses said. But a source in the Islamic Jihad movement said, "Sometimes it takes time to control the field," stressing that "everyone is committed to calm as long as the occupation committed to it."
The Israeli army later said five rockets had been fired into Israel from Gaza after the ceasefire took effect, and two air defenses had been intercepted by air defenses.
The Egyptian official said that the agreement also provides for "maintaining the peaceful return marches", which are organized by the Palestinians every Friday on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
The agreement also includes "Israel's agreement to stop the assassinations," he said.
Meanwhile, the European Union called on Israel to avoid Palestinian casualties, following a recent round of tensions with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.
"Israel must exercise restraint and do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties, in line with its obligations under international law," said a statement issued by the European Union office in Jerusalem yesterday.
The statement mourned the loss of lives of the 34 civilians killed in Israeli air strikes in recent days in the Gaza Strip, including eight children.
The EU will closely follow up with the Israeli authorities on the results of the investigation into the killing of eight members of the Abu Milhous family in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, which should be transparent, in line with international standards and ensure accountability.
For its part, the Israeli army announced yesterday that it is investigating the killing of civilians in a dawn raid Thursday morning on Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, killing eight members of the same family.