Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to a ceasefire on Sunday after a bloody weekend of fighting that reportedly left dozens of Palestinians dead and injured.
The truce, negotiated by Egypt, took effect at 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to Israel and officials with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. The two sides have exchanged rocket fire since Friday, when Israeli Defense Forces launched preemptive strikes against Islamic Jihad, killing top leaders of the terrorist group. Gaza officials have said 44 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in the three days of clashes. President Joe Biden welcomed the news of the ceasefire on Sunday.
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“I welcome the announcement tonight of a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based militants after three days of hostilities,” Biden said in a statement.
The president also thanked Egyptian, Qatari, and Jordanian leaders for working to negotiate an end to the flare-up of hostilities in the region, and he stated his “unwavering” support for Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorist groups in the Middle East.
“My support for Israel’s security is long-standing and unwavering — including its right to defend itself against attacks,” Biden said. “Over these recent days, Israel has defended its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the United States is proud of our support for Israel’s Iron-Dome, which intercepted hundreds of rockets and saved countless lives. I commend Prime Minister Yair Lapid and his government’s steady leadership throughout the crisis.”
The Israel Defense Forces Operations Directorate announced Saturday that all the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders had been killed in attacks that began on Friday.
“This organization tried to carry out a deadly attack against Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers by launching an anti-tank guided missile to kill civilians and soldiers,” Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk said in a press conference Saturday. “We hit and foiled the chain [who sought to] execute this attack.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response to the assassinations, most of which were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, according to the IDF.
Forty-four Palestinians, including 15 children, were killed in the fighting, according to Palestinian health officials, and scores of Israelis were injured while dodging Palestinian rockets and getting hit with shrapnel, according to reports.
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Biden called for an investigation into whether Israeli rockets or militant rockets that fell short of their targets were responsible for the deaths in Gaza.
“The reports of civilian casualties in Gaza are a tragedy, whether by Israeli strikes against Islamic Jihad positions or the dozens of Islamic Jihad rockets that reportedly fell inside Gaza,” Biden said. “My Administration supports a timely and thorough investigation into all of these reports, and we also call on all parties to fully implement the ceasefire, and to ensure fuel and humanitarian supplies are flowing into Gaza as the fighting subsides.”
