Rocket fire continued after Egyptian brokered truce was slated to start

Rocket fire from Gaza continued after an Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to end the five-day of fighting was slated to go into effect at 10 p.m. on Saturday night.

An Israeli defense official confirmed the report of such a truce that first circulated in the Egyptian media, explaining that “quiet will be met with quiet.”

No details of reported truce

Israel has not yet released any details of the truce or even a formal public confirmation that it has gone into effect. Typically the restoration of calm between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza is measured by the cessation of rocket fire and IDF aerial strikes.

The Palestinian and Arab media published a five-sentence text from Egypt of the cease-fire announcement, which spoke of an end to targeting civilians and demolishing homes once the truce goes into effect.

Egypt urged both the PIJ and Israel to implement the agreement and plans to follow up with both sides.

The Joint Operations Rooms of the Palestinian Resistance Factions in Gaza also announced an end to the current round of fighting, in a statement it issued late Saturday. The group which consists of a number of terror groups in Gaza, said that the Palestinians entered and exited the battle united and strong as ever. It warned Israel against carrying out additional targeted assassinations, saying that our fingers are on the trigger. 

In Ramallah, PLO Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the “truce agreement” and thanked Egypt for “its great role and great effort.”

The truce reached through indirect talks was considered so fragile that the Home Front Command maintained its orders for Israelis in southern Israel to remain in protected spaces, even after 10 p.m. Egypt has traditionally brokered such truces which are never considered to be formal cease-fires.

It was unclear if the rocket fire Saturday night were the last shots of the five-day violent exchange, known in Israel as Operation Shield and Arrow, or a signal that truce efforts had failed at the last moment.

Senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official Mohammed al-Hindi, who was summoned to Cairo last week for urgent talks with Egyptian intelligence official, claimed that the ceasefire deal includes an end to the “targeting of civilians and individuals.”

He also claimed that the ceasefire includes an end to house demolitions, but he did not elaborate.

Hindi told the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera television network that his group would abide by the ceasefire as long as Israel does so.

“Israel started the round of escalation by targeting civilian buildings, and our response came as self-defense,” he said.

Security assessments throughout the weekend

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security assessments throughout the weekend, including on Saturday night.

National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed Israel’s appreciation for Egypt’s “vigorous efforts to bring about a ceasefire,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday night.

Hanegbi clarified that “quiet will be answered with quiet. If Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do everything it needs to do in order to defend itself.”

On Friday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that “no country would ever tolerate rocket attacks on its citizens – neither does Israel.” He added, “We have a duty to protect our people against terrorism.”

As of Saturday night, Hamas which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, had not been actively involved in the fighting. Its absence indicates that the fighting has not widened to include regional players. 

Earlier Saturday a senior Israeli official called on Hamas to seize control of the situation and end the PIJ’s rocket fire into Israel.

“For years, Hamas stood strong in Gaza and refused to allow other organizations to dictate its policy. This latest round shows that Hamas is weak.,” the source said.

It has allowed the PIJ, which is funded by Iran, to dictate the agenda in the agenda in Gaza and to drag the Strip into additional rounds of needless fighting, the source explained.

Hamas’ failure to draw a red line in the sand and forced the PIJ to end the shooting, will be seen as evidence of a change in the balance of power in the Strip, the source stated.

On Friday US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman spoke with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and reiterated the Biden’s administration’s “enduring commitment to Israel’s security,” according to the State Department.

Sherman “strongly condemned the indiscriminate launch of rockets into Israel from Gaza-based terrorist groups, which endangers the welfare of both Israelis and Palestinians,” the State Department explained.

It added that Sherman had “expressed deep regret for Palestinian and Israeli civilian casualties and “stressed the urgency of achieving a ceasefire agreement in order to prevent any further loss of civilian life and restore calm.”

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