After 55 fighting hours and 1,000 rockets: Ceasefire between Israel and the Jihad came into effect

After fighting that lasted two and a half days, the ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic Jihad came into effect on Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. However, on the Palestinian side the agreement was violated: at 11:51 p.m. a red alarm was sounded in Eshkol, a rocket launched from the Strip was intercepted. There are no casualties. At 11:38 p.m. a red alarm was sounded in the city of Sderot and in several localities in the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council. Several rockets launched from the Strip were intercepted by the Iron Dome system and others fell in open areas without causing casualties.
Even before the ceasefire came into effect, the terrorist organization in Gaza launched rockets at a number of settlements in Otef and Be'er Sheva without warning
The talks for an agreement between the parties, mediated by Egypt, lasted a whole day. In Jerusalem it was confirmed during the day that advanced negotiations for a ceasefire are taking place, but there was concern as to whether the Islamic Jihad would agree to stop firing at Israel. The concern stemmed from the fact that it is a decentralized organization without an organized leadership and against the background of the assassinations of the senior members of the organization, Taysir Jabari, who was the head of the military branch of the Islamic Jihad in the north of the Gaza Strip, and Khaled Mansour, who was the head of the military branch in the south of the Gaza Strip. Rum for body casualties. The IDF also launched a barrage of fire in the Gaza Strip ahead of the cease-fire using fighter jets, helicopter gunships, drones and precise fire from the ground. As part of the military activity, a series of Islamic Jihad targets were attacked, including military camps, a headquarters, rocket launchers and ammunition depots.
The leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziad Nachala, said: "I congratulate the Palestinian people for their firm stand in the face of aggression, bow to the martyrs and congratulate the entire Arab world that stood by us. The Islamic Jihad was established to maintain the unity of the Palestinian people and the various arenas.
"The Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip reached an achievement under the leadership of the Islamic Jihad. We worked to protect Sheikh Bassam al-Saadi and ensure unity among our people, also geographically. The Islamic Jihad today is stronger, all the enemy cities were within range of its rockets. We added another condition (to the ceasefire agreement) and that is the release of Bassam al-Saadi, while the enemy was unable to impose any conditions."
During the day, Cairo exerted enormous pressure on the Jihad to agree to a ceasefire. The talks were also attended by the Qataris and the UN Secretary-General's envoy for the Middle East, Tor Wensland. Hamas, the strongest and sovereign terrorist organization in Gaza, also pressured the Jihad to agree - and thus a rare situation was created in which Israel, Egypt and Hamas have a common agreement in the face of the Jihad that tried to harden positions.
A few hours before the ceasefire came into force, the Jihad expanded the circle of fire and launched volleys towards Gush Dan. In Israel they immediately understood that this was an attempt of the last few hours to achieve achievements while the data on the number of casualties during the operation was to his detriment - 36 dead on the Gaza side compared to zero on the Israeli side. On a road inside a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council, a rocket was found that was fired from the Gaza Strip a few minutes before the ceasefire.
At a certain stage, Jihad conditioned its agreement to a ceasefire on Israel's willingness to release the leader of the Islamic Jihad in Jenin, Bassam al-Saadi, whose arrest last week ignited the events, and the administrative detainee Khalil Awadeh, who has been on hunger strike for more than 140 days. Israel flatly refused. Later, a compromise was reached between the Egyptians and the Jihad, according to which Cairo would work for the release of the two as soon as possible. Israel hastened to clarify that there is no commitment to release the detainees. A security official said: We undertake to talk to the Egyptians about the detainees, we do not undertake to release anyone.
Throughout the hours leading up to the cease-fire, they waited anxiously in Jerusalem for the official announcement by the Egyptians after the draft of the announcement was revealed on Al-Jazeera. In the end, the Egyptians published the text of the agreement which reads: "As part of its efforts to end the situation of tension prevailing in the Gaza Strip, Egypt has increased its contacts with all parties with the aim of ending the current escalation."
Islamic Jihad officials announced that they intend to honor the ceasefire agreement. A senior Israeli official said that the question arises as to whether the ceasefire will stand the test of reality. The official emphasized that Israel will be committed to a ceasefire only if the shooting in its direction stops. The head of the national information system stated: "If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel reserves the right to respond strongly. We will not allow any party to violate the daily routine of the residents of the State of Israel."
Prime Minister Yair Lapid convened a security situation assessment tonight to discuss the situation in Gaza and the ceasefire. Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Chief of Staff Major General Aviv Kochavi, Mossad Head Dadi Barnea, General Security Service Chief Ronan Bar and Prime Minister's Military Secretary Avi Gil participated in the discussion. As part of the discussion, an overview of the operation's progress and security assessments was given. and the civilian for the coming days.
Lapid is not obliged to convene the cabinet to approve a ceasefire and in fact has the authority to agree on it alone. However, as mentioned, there is a discussion on the subject in a security forum.
A few hours before that, Defense Minister Gantz completed a situation assessment with senior members of the defense establishment, at the end of which he instructed to prepare for continued fighting. The directive was given with the knowledge that in the hours leading up to the ceasefire - the jihad might increase the shooting in a desperate attempt to get out of the conflict with some kind of achievement, therefore special preparation is required to avoid last minute surprises.