Palestinians in Gaza celebrate ceasefire announcement

Palestinians in Gaza are celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, after five days of fighting that saw over 1,000 rockets launched at Israel. The Israeli military targeted dozens of the terror group’s sites and locations over the course of this round of conflict.

The two sides agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire late Saturday.

As the truce took hold, the deafening whooshes of outgoing rockets and booms of Israeli airstrikes were replaced by the honking of cars in Gaza. Streets that had been desolate in recent days quickly teemed with people reveling in the ceasefire, waving Palestinian flags and flashing victory signs from speeding vehicles. Amid the celebration, a fruit vendor used a loudspeaker, enthusiastically promoting his supply of bananas.

In Israel, two civilians were killed by PIJ rockets since the IDF launched Operation Shield and Arrow on Tuesday — an Israeli woman in Rehovot and a Palestinian man from Gaza who was working in a greenhouse near the southern town of Shokeda.

At least 69 Israelis have also been wounded.

Meanwhile, Israel has killed 18 Islamic Jihad operatives in addition to at least 10 Palestinian civilians, an IDF official said Saturday. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry put the death toll at 33, but the IDF official noted that some Gaza civilians were likely killed by PIJ rockets that landed inside the Strip. Another 151 Palestinians in Gaza have been injured, according to the enclave’s health ministry.