GAZA CITY, Palestine
A cease-fire was reached in Gaza on Thursday following two days of bloody Israeli escalation.
The Islamic Jihad group said it will hold fire after Israel agreed to an Egyptian-mediated truce.
Musab Al-Braim, the Islamic Jihad group’s spokesman, told Anadolu Agency that a cease-fire has been reached in Gaza that came into effect at 5:00 a.m. local time (0300GMT).
Al-Braim said that based “on implementing the demands of the Palestinian resistance groups, the Islamic Jihad accepted the cease-fire” with Israel.
“The cease-fire began under Egyptian sponsorship after the Occupation [Israel] submitted to the conditions set by Islamic Jihad on behalf of Palestinian resistance factions,” Al-Braim added.
An Israeli military spokesman also confirmed the cease-fire.
“The cease-fire came into effect […] after a painful blow to the Islamic Jihad,” Avichai Adraee, Israeli army spokesman, said in a statement.
The escalation left 34 Palestinians dead and more than 110 injured.
The military escalation started after Israel assassinated a prominent Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu al-Atta. The Palestinian resistance groups fired hundreds of rockets in response to the Israeli escalation.
- Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara
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