A shaky ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad appeared to be taking hold early Tuesday, ending a two-day round of violence that had threatened to disrupt the March 2 Knesset election.
Musab al-Berim, a spokesman for the PIJ, said the ceasefire went into effect at 11:30 p.m. Monday, several hours after an earlier truce quickly unraveled. He said Egypt and UN mediators had negotiated the new deal, and nearly an hour later things appeared quiet on both sides.
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During two days of fighting, Israeli aircraft pounded dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip while the PIJ bombarded southern Israel with heavy rocket fire. Israel also expanded its retaliation to Syria, where some of the Iranian-backed group's leaders are based, killing two more Islamic Jihad members in an overnight airstrike.
On Monday evening, a source with ties to Gaza-based terrorist organizations informed the news site Al-Watania, which is identified with Hamas, that the ceasefire would take effect starting at 11:30 p.m. Monday evening.
Earlier Monday, the Al-Aqsa channel, also identified with Hamas, reported that the various "resistance" groups in the Gaza Strip had agreed to Egyptian mediators' plea for a cease-fire starting at 10 p.m. However, the hour following the report saw consistent rocket fire on Israel that ended just before 11 p.m.
The development comes after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced Monday that its response to IDF strikes in Khan Younis and Damascus had concluded. In a written press release, the PIJ stated that it "promises to continue to respond to acts of occupation against our people."
The PIJ had declared a unilateral ceasefire. But Israel continued to strike targets in Gaza. Islamic Jihad accused Israel of continued "aggression" and resumed its rocket fire, drawing further Israeli airstrikes and an Israeli closure of Gaza's key border crossings and fishing zone.
