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Gaza ceasefire agreed

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Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire yesterday after two days of intense fighting in which 500 missiles and mortars were fired into Israel and Israeli forces bombed 160 targets in Gaza.

On Tuesday evening, Palestinian factions in Gaza released a joint statement saying that “a cease-fire has been reached and we have responded to Egyptian efforts on this matter,” adding that they are “committed to the cease-fire as long as Israel doesn’t break it and doesn’t attack the Palestinian people”.

Israeli diplomatic sources said the ceasefire follows the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas in the summer of 2014 and that “requests by Hamas to agree a ceasefire came from four different mediators” – Egypt, the UN, Norway and Switzerland. Palestinian sources said the Qataris played played an important role as well.

The Israeli Security Cabinet met for six hours yesterday and decided, without a vote, to cease air strikes on the Gaza Strip and to renew efforts to reach an arrangement with Hamas. The cabinet instructed the Israel Defence Forces to ‘take any action necessary,’ but a decision was also made to accept the formula that ended previous rounds of violence, in which “quiet will be met with quiet”.

The ceasefire was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and the international community but Israeli media reported that some cabinet ministers were opposed to the ceasefire. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s office released a statement denying reports that he had supported ending air strikes on Gaza. Ministers Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked and Zeev Elkin were also reported to have opposed the ceasefire. Despite what ministers were briefing to the Israeli media, government and defence sources said the Security Cabinet unanimously supported the advice of military and defence officials that Israel should agree an end to hostilities.