By Paul Goldman and Mithil Aggarwal -
NBC News
TEL AVIV — Israeli officials confirmed that there will be a ceasefire this Sunday at 11:30 pm local time, after two days of fighting that left more than two dozen people dead, including leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
In a statement, they thanked the Egyptian government for helping negotiate the truce and warned that
"if the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel maintains its right to respond firmly
. "
"We will not allow any interruption in the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel," the statement added.
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Rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, Palestine, towards Israel, on August 7, 2022. Hatem Moussa / AP
Rockets rained down near West Jerusalem on Sunday morning after the Israeli army killed an Islamic Jihad group commander.
It is the second in three days.
Khaled Mansour was killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza on Saturday night, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Sunday.
Two other Mansour operators, including his second in command, were also killed.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group, which is backed by Iran, later confirmed the commander's death in a statement, saying they would "ignite the battle to defend Jerusalem."
The statement also indicated that two other of its members, Ziyad Ahmad al-Mudallal and Raafat Saleh Sheikh al-Eid, had also been killed in the airstrike.
It was Israel's second such bombardment since it launched its military offensive against the militant group on Friday.
Taiseer al-Jabari, the Islamic Jihad officer in command of the northern Gaza division, was also killed on Friday, both Israel and the militant group confirmed.
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Five civilians were also killed on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 31 since the start of the offensive on Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday.
Six children and four women were among the dead
, adding that more than 250 people were injured.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Saturday that a rocket fired from Gaza killed four children in a Palestinian house in the Jebaliya refugee camp, where the Health Ministry said six people were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement on Sunday that the operation would continue "as long as necessary," adding that his army was acting "precisely and responsibly" with minimal harm to civilians.
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Air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem for the first time this Sunday since last year's war between Israel and Hamas.
In another press release this Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces assured that
more than 97% of the rockets that were launched were shot down by the Iron Dome Air Defense System.
The Hamas group, which rules Gaza, has remained on the sidelines so far.
But he paid tribute to Mansour in a statement on Sunday, describing him and the other Islamic Jihad members who died as "martyrs."
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Hamas is larger than Islamic Jihad, both groups share many key demands and ideologies, including a refusal to recognize the existence of the State of Israel.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several minor battles in the last 15 years.
Hamas has a strong incentive to avoid another war, as last year's conflict took a heavy toll on the 2.3 million Palestinian residents of the impoverished territory.
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Since the last war, Israel and Hamas have reached a tacit agreement based on work permits and a slight relaxation of the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt when Hamas came to power 15 years ago.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated US support for Israel on Saturday during a call with Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Gantz, while urging action to prevent the conflict from escalating.
He also expressed concern about reports of civilian deaths and called for a "timely and thorough" investigation.