A CEASEFIRE between Israel and militant Palestinian groups in Gaza, brokered by Egypt, went into effect last night, ending three days of violence.
After the visit of an Israeli delegation to Cairo yesterday, Egyptian mediators informed representatives of the Palestinian militias in Gaza that Israel would halt its air strikes only if the Palestinian groups stopped shooting first.
Members of the Hamas security forces, which control Gaza, were set to enforce the agreement and prevent gunmen from the smaller militant factions launching more rockets into southern Israel.
Diplomatic sources said the UN’s Middle East envoy Robert Serry, along with US, German and French officials, had also been involved in the ceasefire efforts.
There were more Israeli air strikes on Gaza yesterday and rocket attacks on southern Israel by militants, but less than in the previous days that had seen the most serious flare-up since Israel’s invasion of Gaza in late 2008.
Israeli sources confirmed the reduced military strikes on Gaza were an intentional move aimed at allowing Egypt to mediate a ceasefire and improving strained bilateral ties after Cairo had threatened to withdraw its ambassador to Israel over the killing by Israel of three Egyptian policemen.
Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak expressed regret over the cross-border shooting, and set up a joint investigation with the Egyptian military.
The decision to pull back from the brink took most people by surprise. More than 100 projectiles have landed in southern Israel since Thursday night, and one million residents of the area were told to stay close to bomb shelters.
It had been expected that Israel would step up their campaign, possibly by targeting Gazan infrastructure or by ordering a limited ground offensive, after a man was killed when a rocket exploded on Saturday night in Beersheba, the largest city in southern Israel.
A number of Israeli officials called for a harsh response, and after another rocket slammed into an empty Beersheba school yesterday, residents demanded a decisive military response. Mr Barak issued a harsh warning to those responsible for the latest rocket fire, saying those who act against Israel “will have their heads separated from their bodies”.
The Arab League, during an emergency meeting in Cairo yesterday, condemned the Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt the strikes.
The violence started when Palestinian gunmen crossed from the Egyptian Sinai into southern Israel last week and killed eight Israelis on the highway north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Israel blamed the attack on the Popular Resistance Committees, a small militant group in Gaza.
Fifteen Palestinians have been killed in three days of Israeli air strikes in Gaza, including five civilians. The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the rockets fired into Israel. Hamas leaders said it was working to avoid further escalation.