JERUSALEM: Calm returned to Gaza yesterday as a truce between Israel and Hamas took hold after a bloody 24 hours of violence that left four Palestinians dead and two Thai workers wounded in Israel.
With the Eid Al-Adha festival due to start today, Gazans were enjoying a quiet day of preparation without air strikes, and Israelis were making the most of the respite in rocket fire.
Following a quiet night in which there were no reports of Israeli raids or militant rocket fire on southern Israel, schools reopened in Israel and Palestinians went back to work.
During the morning, the military reported that one rocket had landed in an open area without causing injuries or damage, but had no knowledge of three rockets being fired shortly after dawn, as was claimed in a statement by the Gaza-based Mujahedeen Brigades.
And the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza was reopened, as was the Hamas-run checkpoint leading to the border in Beit Hanun.
Late on Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian officials told AFP that an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire would go into effect at midnight. The agreement was aimed at ending an eruption of bloodshed, which saw Israeli airstrikes kill four militants and armed groups firing more than 70 rockets and mortars across the border, wounding two Thai workers.
Gaza calm as cease-fire takes hold
