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Explosion in the Gaza Strip (on August 7)
Photo: IMAGO/Khaled Omar / IMAGO/Xinhua
Most recently, there had been the heaviest fighting for about a year.
But with the recently agreed ceasefire, there is at least a faint hope of relaxation in the Middle East.
However, according to its own statements, the Israeli army carried out further airstrikes on Gaza shortly before the ceasefire came into force with the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad.
At 11:25 p.m. local time, five minutes before the ceasefire came into effect, the army carried out a "final attack," a spokesman said on Sunday night.
In doing so, he corrected previous statements that the attack had taken place after the ceasefire came into force.
Israel had been bombing targets of the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip since Friday.
According to Palestinian sources, 44 people were killed and more than 300 others injured.
In response to the airstrikes, Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets towards Israel.
On Sunday, Israel and Islamic Jihad, mediated by Egypt, then agreed on a ceasefire that came into effect at 11:30 p.m. (local time, 10:30 p.m. CEST).
However, Islamic Jihad stressed its right to respond to any new "aggression" by Israel.
The Israeli government also confirmed that the ceasefire would come into effect at 11:30 p.m.
But Prime Minister Jair Lapid's office warned: "If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel reserves the right to respond harshly."
The current escalation of violence is the most violent in the Gaza Strip since May last year.
The radical Islamic Hamas, which has ruled in the Gaza Strip since 2007, fired rockets in the direction of Israel at the time, prompting the Israeli air force to bomb targets in the Gaza Strip.
More than 260 people were killed in the Gaza Strip during the 11-day fighting, and 13 were killed in Israel.
Shelling of Jerusalem also reported
The conflict between the Israeli army and Islamists in the Gaza Strip escalated over the weekend.
The Israeli army also killed southern Islamic Jihad commander Khalid Mansur in airstrikes as part of the "Dawn" military operation, the military said on Sunday.
At the beginning of the military operation, Israel had killed the jihadi military chief Taisir al-Jabari and other PIJ members.
According to Israeli information, Islamic Jihad was planning an attack with anti-tank missiles in the border area with the Gaza Strip.
For several days, Israel cordoned off areas on the edge of the coastal strip and increased the state of alert.
The escalation followed Monday's arrest of a PIJ leader in the West Bank, Bassem Saadi.
For the first time in this round of violence, Palestinian militants also fired rockets at Jerusalem.
According to the army, more than 500 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip since the start of the operation on Friday.
By Sunday evening, the warning sirens were howling in numerous cities, including Tel Aviv.
Almost all of the missiles that threatened Israeli residential areas were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
jok/AFP
