Effective: May 20, 2021 10:00 PM
The Israeli government and the extremist Islamist group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire. Both sides confirmed this. The ceasefire must take effect from 2 AM the following night.
A ceasefire has been agreed in the Middle East conflict. The radical Islamist movement Hamas announced that there would be a “mutual and concurrent” ceasefire from 2:00 pm the following day. A spokesman said that the “armed resistance” of the Palestinians would remain attached to it as long as the Israeli side did so. The Israeli security cabinet also confirmed that there would be an unconditional ceasefire. Egypt appears to have mediated between the two sides. The government in Cairo has sent delegations to Israel and the Palestinians to work on making the ceasefire permanent.
And Israeli media reported that there is an agreement on the basis of a “calm in exchange for calm.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “The political leaders have insisted that the reality on the ground will determine the future of the campaign.”
Hundreds of dead
Palestinian militants have fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israel since Monday last week, and Israel responded with hundreds of air strikes on the Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, at least 230 people were killed in the area, including 65 children and 39 women. In addition, 1710 were injured. About 58 thousand Palestinians fled their homes. In Israel, rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip have so far killed 12 people, among them a five-year-old and 16-year-old.
Recently, the US government has put heavy pressure on Israel to end the military operation that began last week. A government spokeswoman said Israel had achieved “significant military objectives” in its attacks on Hamas. Therefore, US President Joe Biden expects the process to begin to roll back. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who was mediating in Israel, also called for a ceasefire.
