Israel-Palestine updates: Ceasefire in Gaza comes into force

Turkey’s foreign minister spoke by phone with the political leader of Hamas as a ceasefire took hold with Israel after its three-day attack on Gaza.

During the call, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Ismail Haniyeh discussed the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza and the incursion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israelis, according to a statement by the Turkish foreign ministry, which condemned attempts by hundreds of settlers to force their way in on Sunday.

Israel’s army said it was striking “a wide range” of Palestinian armed targets in Gaza after a 20:30 GMT ceasefire came into force, responding to rocket fire moments earlier.

In a statement sent at 20:33 GMT, the army said: “In response to rockets fired towards Israeli territory, the [military] is currently striking a wide range of targets belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation in the Gaza Strip.”

The army had issued multiple air raid warnings of incoming rocket fire moments before the truce, including at 20:29 GMT.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in a statement says at least 44 people were killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, with more than 350 civilians wounded in the past three days.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office confirmed that an Egypt-brokered ceasefire ending three days of conflict with the Islamic Jihad armed group in the Gaza Strip will come into force on Sunday night.

The premier’s office said in a statement that it “can confirm that a ceasefire will take effect tonight at 23:30 [20:30 GMT]. The State of Israel thanks Egypt for its efforts. If the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel maintains the right to respond strongly.”

A truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza will go into effect at 11:30pm local time (2030 GMT) on Sunday, helped by Egyptian mediators, the armed group said.

“We appreciate the Egyptian efforts that had been exerted to end the Israeli aggression against our people,” Islamic Jihad spokesperson Tareq Selmi said.

Al Jazeera’s correspondent Safwat al-Khalout, reporting from Gaza, says a ceasefire may be in force by the end of the day according to a senior Islamic Jihad official.

“Islamic Jihad will wait for the Egyptians to announce the ceasefire and then they will accept it,” he told Al Jazeera, adding the official said the ceasefire is likely to take place around 20:00 GMT.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim said Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid was at the central military base in Tel Aviv where he was conducting an assessment ahead of this ceasefire that is expected to take place later in the day.

Gaza resident and teacher Eman Basher told Al Jazeera from Gaza that the situation in the besieged coastal strip has been “overwhelming”, as she tried to keep her children distracted and calm amid Israel’s attack.

“I’ve been telling them that it [Israeli bombardment] is fireworks. I’ve been telling them that people are happy because of the high school graduation a few days ago,” Basher said.

“However, after a while I started feeling that they don’t believe me but they don’t want to say it.”

Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from West Jerusalem, says a ceasefire deal between Islamic Jihad and Israel is “close”, according to a member of the Israeli Knesset.

“We’re just learning that a prominent member of the Knesset is saying that he’s been in contact with members of the cabinet and that a ceasefire is ‘close’,” she said. “The hope was that at some point this evening, Israel would be able to announce a ceasefire. That has not happened at this time on day three of the operation.”

“There are media reports the Israeli government is not going to meet any demands made by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” Ghoneim added.

Four more children were killed in Gaza on Sunday, the Palestinian territory’s health ministry said, as days of intense fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel raged despite talks of a proposed truce.

Since an Israeli military operation targeting Islamic Jihad positions began on Friday, a total of 41 Palestinians “have been martyred, including 15 children and four women, and 311 have been injured” across the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave’s ministry said.

The Palestinian health ministry has said in a statement that at least of 36 people have been killed in Israel’s attack on Gaza, including 11 children and four women.

The ministry said 311 civilians have also been wounded since Friday.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the international community to help stop Israel’s offensive while holding up photos of children killed in Gaza in the latest round of fighting between the two sides.

“The image of the martyred and wounded children in Gaza must shake the conscience of humanity and work to stop the aggression immediately,” Shtayyeh said at a press conference in Ramallah on Sunday.

He said that the United Nations Security Council would meet on Monday to discuss the issue, and added, “What is required of the Security Council [is] to take a serious and feasible decision to provide protection to the Palestinian people. We want this from the institution more than condemnation.”

KEEP READING

• Timeline: Israel’s attacks on Gaza since 2005
• Several children, commander killed in Israeli attack on Gaza
• Photos: Children killed as Israel bombards Gaza
• Israel’s assault on Gaza: What we know so far

The United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories says Israel’s air raids on the besieged Gaza Strip “not only are illegal but irresponsible”, calling for a diplomatic solution to the latest bout of violence, which began on Friday when Israel launched air attacks on Gaza City.

“The situation in Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis,” Francesca Albanez told Al Jazeera.

“The only way to secure the wellness of Palestinians wherever they are is to lift the siege and allow aid to enter.”

Read more here.

Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, has said Israel’s pre-emptive attack on Gaza is a “war crime” and that pro-Israel statements from countries like the US and UK were giving Tel Aviv the “green light” to continue its attack in the besieged coastal strip.

“You base your entire bombardment of an entire city that is Gaza … that is besieged for the last 16 years by air, besieged by land, besieged by sea – and you attack them every once in a while under the pretext of information. This is a very well-defined war crime,” he told Al Jazeera from Ramallah.

“Under international law, the only people who have rights here are the occupied people. They have the right to defend themselves, their families and to defend their land. Therefore, this whole talk of Israel’s right to self-defence – to defend itself as per the US statements the UK statements, some Western country’s statement – is simply giving Israel … a green light to continue its murderous policies, to continue its war crimes.”

Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout reporting from Gaza says people are “looking forward” to a ceasefire soon as life has “completely stopped” amid Israel’s attack that has been ongoing since Friday.

“The humanitarian conditions are deteriorating and since the power station stopped yesterday, people are living with only four hours of power,” he said.

A Palestinian mortar bomb attack damaged the shuttered Israel-Gaza Erez border crossing on Sunday, the Israeli Ministry of Defence has said.

“The terminal roof was damaged as a result of the fire, and shrapnel fell into the entrance hall, an area that is used to facilitate the daily passage of thousands of Gazans that work in Israel,” the Defence Ministry said. No casualties have been reported.

There are conflicting reports on a potential ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad taking hold on Sunday night.

Earlier, sources told Al Jazeera a truce would be announced in the coming hours. But according to Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout, another Islamic Jihad official said nothing had been agreed upon just yet.

“Yes they are working on specific details, but the agreement has not been reached yet,” he said from Gaza. “On the ground, the rockets are still being launched and Israeli raids are continuing.”

Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from West Jerusalem, says an Israeli source did not confirm reports of a ceasefire being reached in Gaza.

“It’s not a certainty … we did receive word the negotiations on progress toward a ceasefire continue. There were indications all day that Israel is keen to wrap up this operation,” she added.

According to a media report, Ghoneim said the thinking was that “now is the time to wrap up the operation”.

“The objectives had been met and there were concerns about mistakes being made that could lead to a wider conflict,” she said. “The general thinking among Israeli pundits is that the longer this operation continues, the greater the misery and death toll in Gaza, the greater likelihood that perhaps Hamas might enter the fray and that of course is not something that Israel wants.”

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has called on all parties to refrain from targeting civilians and “work towards an immediate ceasefire” after Israel’s attack on Gaza has left 29 people dead in the past several days.

“Every single escalation of violence in Gaza comes at the cost of ordinary people, who pay the highest price for military actions,” NRC’s Middle East Regional Director Carsten Hansen said.

“Innocent children and families have been caught up in the vicious circle of violence for as long as they can remember. Many in Gaza are still recovering— both psychologically and physically — from last year’s eleven-day crisis,” Hansen added.

Al Jazeera’s Youmna El Sayed, reporting from the Gaza Strip, says a ceasefire is likely to be announced at 5pm local time (14:00 GMT), according to the mediation team from Egypt and Islamic Jihad sources.

“There is going to be an announcement of a ceasefire effect taking effect at 17:00 GMT – that is 8pm local time. Right now, the raids are still going on as are the rocket launches,” El Sayed said. “Before any ceasefire agreement in previous wars, those are critical hours where a lot of targeting takes place.”

Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza marks the latest bout of violence since the 11-day war in May 2021 killed hundreds and wounded thousands.

Israeli forces have launched similar attacks since 2005, when they withdrew from the coastal enclave home to 2.3 million people.

August 2005 – Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza 38 years after capturing it from Egypt, abandoning settlements and leaving it under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

January 2006 – Hamas, an armed group, wins the majority of seats in a Palestinian legislative election.

Read more here.