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Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Sunday, August 7, 2022
Minister suggests Israel open to ceasefire if Islamic Jihad ‘requests a deal’
Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern in the Knesset plenum on October 13, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern says the military operation against Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue until “we’re sure of continued calm in the south,” but suggests Israel is open to a ceasefire with the Gaza-based terror group.
“Israel has made very significant achievements in the operation,” he says in an interview with Army Radio when asked about an unnamed official telling Hebrew media that Egyptian-mediated ceasefire talks are being held.
“If they continue to fire on us, we’ll continue to respond, but if [Islamic Jihad] requests a deal — we aren’t seeking war,” adds Stern, a member of Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.
