Ceasefire called after more than 20 die in Israel-Gaza fighting

Palestinian officials report that Egypt has mediated a truce after rocket attacks and air strikes killed more than 20 people in Gaza and southern Israel.

کد خبر: ۸۹۶۹۵۸

تاریخ: ۱۶ ارديبهشت ۱۳۹۸ - ۰۹:۲۲

Egypt brokered an agreement to cease hostilities from 4.30am local time, an official from the strip's Islamist rulers Hamas and another from its allied group Islamic Jihad said on condition of anonymity.

An Egyptian official also confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity. An Israeli army spokeswoman had no comment.

The decision comes after some of the most intense clashes in years have left a reported four Israelis and 19 Palestinians dead - more than half of them civilians.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to continue "massive strikes" against Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Islamic Jihad in the most serious border clashes since a spate of fighting in November.

Israel's military said that more than 600 rockets and other projectiles - over 150 of them intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system - had been fired at southern Israeli cities and villages since Friday.

It said it attacked more than 260 targets belonging to Gaza militant groups. Gaza officials said Israeli air strikes and artillery fire had killed 27 people, including 14 civilians, since Friday.

A rocket that hit a house in Ashkelon on Sunday killed a 58-year-old man, police said. He was the first such Israeli civilian fatality since the seven-week Gaza war in 2014.

Another rocket strike killed a factory worker, a hospital official said. The military said a civilian was killed near the border by an anti-tank missile fired at his car from Gaza and a fourth died when a rocket struck the city of Ashdod.

In Gaza, militant groups identified eight fighters killed in Israeli strikes, while medical officials said that nine civilians also died, including a couple and their baby daughter.

Israel's military killed Hamed Ahmed Al-Khodary, a Hamas commander in what it said was a separate, targeted attack.

The military said he was responsible for transferring funds from Iran to armed factions in Gaza. Hamas confirmed Khodary had been killed.

The attack on his car was the first such killing by Israel of a top militant since the war five years ago. Israel had suspended what Palestinians call an assassination policy in an attempt to lower tensions.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a statement late on Sunday saying his group was not seeking a broader conflict and held out the possibility of a ceasefire, although sirens warning of rocket fire continued to sound in Israeli cities into the night.

President Donald Trump expressed full US support for Israel and called for an end to the rocket attacks, saying Gazans would only face more hardship and that it was time to seek peace.

"Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defence of its citizens ... To the Gazan people - these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace - it can happen!," Trump said in a message on Twitter.

The latest round of violence began two days ago when an Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

In two weeks, Israel is also hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, the target of a Gaza rocket attack in March. That attack caused no damage.