All dailies report on the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire declared at 9pm Wednesday evening, ending eight days of intense fighting between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. The Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and Metro London call it a ‘fragile truce’ and the Times and the Telegraph report on the continued rocket fire from Gaza after the ceasefire was declared. The BBC reports UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s statement urging all sides to keep to the ceasefire, but the BBC, Independent and Guardian do not report in detail on the rockets that continued to land in Israel Tuesday night.

The Guardian describes the terms of the ceasefire as an Israeli commitment to ‘stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip by land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals,’ in exchange for Hamas’ promise to control ‘all Palestinian factions’ to ‘stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.’ The report cites Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threat that more force may be necessary in the future if the terms are not honoured by Hamas, in the context of an Israeli Channel 2 television poll which revealed that 70 per cent of Israelis opposed the ceasefire deal. An Israeli government source is reported to say that further issues will be worked out in the next 24 hours, including the further relaxation of border restrictions, the issue of targeted assassinations, the rearming of militant groups and the Israeli-imposed buffer zone inside Gaza.

All dailies including the Evening Standard report on the Tel Aviv bus bombing on Wednesday afternoon, which injured 30 people. Dailies describe concerns that it would derail the emerging ceasefire, as the Times claimed that Hamas was widely believed to be to blame, although the organisation itself only praised and did not claim responsibility for the attack.

Many dailies describe the extensive damage in Gaza and the Independent reports that significant elements in Hamas institutions and infrastructure were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes, including municipal buildings, the Palestine Legislative Council, the main bridge, a bank, a media centre and a sports complex. The Guardian reprints claims by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) that 31 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours of the conflict. It reports the public admission by the commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards that his forces supplied Hamas with the knowhow to develop Fajr-5 missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Op-eds include Richard Haass, the President of the Council on Foreign Relations in the Financial Times on how Israel can draw lessons from Northern Ireland. There is also a piece in the Independent i which claims that the ceasefire is good for both sides – Hamas will be seen to have bolstered its position inside the Palestinian camp, particularly on the West Bank and Netanyahu can claim he significantly weakened Hamas’s missile capability and is willing to take military action when necessary. Richard Spencer in the Daily Telegraph opines that the ceasefire reflects Netanyahu’s understanding of the new political reality in the wake of the Arab Spring. The Guardian’s leader article comments on the ‘uselessness’ of force, claiming that there was no good reason for Israel to launch the operation, and that Hamas succeeded in breaking the siege. The Independent explores whether Gazans have or will benefit from the Arab Spring. Nesrine Malik discusses the ‘empty rhetoric’ of the Arab League, whose leaders make ‘cosmetic’ signs of sympathy with the Palestinians but are more concerned with staying in power. This paper also publishes letters describing Gaza as a new ‘Indian reservation.’

In coverage elsewhere in the region, the Financial Times reports that Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s secretary-general, has welcomed a formal request from Turkey for Patriot missiles to protect it from Syrian attacks. The same paper also includes a feature on how Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has lost his influence with the Palestinians due to the realignment in the Middle East following the Arab spring.

The Israeli media analyses the reasons for and impact of the ceasefire. There is also wide coverage of the Tel Aviv bus bombing and the response of Southern residents to the truce. Israeli Radio reports that about 20 rockets hit Israel in the first two hours of the ceasefire, causing no damage or injury. The IDF have reportedly said that reservists will be released slowly as security assessments are made. Schools in the south remain closed today.

Israeli radio reported that an IDF officer in reserves sustained critical injuries from a rocket fired at the Eshkol Regional Council. Five other soldiers were also injured by the same rocket, one lightly to moderately, and the others lightly. Also reported was that five people are still hospitalized with injuries received in the bus bombing.

Sima Kadmon in Yediot Ahronot notes the unity displayed among the prime minister, the defence minister and the foreign minister, in contrast to recriminations following Operation Cast Lead four years ago. However she notes that the press conference following the truce was really the start of the election campaign, and as neither Netanyahu nor Lieberman took questions, there was no opportunity to challenge them on their change of policy following their election pledge to topple Hamas.

Alex Fishman in Yediot Ahronot claims that the Rishon Lezion rocket two days ago changed, in one blow, the Israeli leadership’s preconception as to Hamas’ position and status in the region. From a bitter enemy that must be toppled, Hamas has turned into the enemy that is the lesser evil and who can and should be used.

Also in Yediot Ahronot, Nahum Barnea follows up on his article from yesterday and addresses some of the broader regional repercussions that are likely to stem from Operation Pillar of Defence, particularly in terms of the power struggle in the Muslim Middle East between the Shiite bloc headed by Iran and the Sunni bloc headed by Egypt and Turkey. Ma’ariv notes the speedy recovery of the Netanyahu-Obama relationship following Netanyahu’s backing of Romney in the recent US Election.