Israel, Islamic Jihad truce appears holding despite rockets

A cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Islamic Jihad militant group appeared to be holding Thursday despite an earlier barrage of rocket fire that briefly disrupted a truce to end two days of intense fighting that killed at least 34 Palestinians, including three women and eight children, and paralyzed parts of Israel. Before the truce was announced, a pre-dawn Israeli airstrike killed eight members of the same family in Gaza. Among them were five children, the youngest being 7 years old.

It was the deadliest single attack since a bruising 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed no link to the family and the Israeli military offered no details on the strike. Israel had hailed the Gaza operation as a victory, defending its policy of targeting militants in their homes despite civilian deaths and vowed to continue the tactic. Islamic Jihad said it had succeeded in getting Israel to agree to a cease-fire based on several demands, including a halt to Israeli targeted killings of the group's leaders.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Musab al-Berim said the Egyptian-brokered deal went into effect at 5:30 a.m. An Israeli military spokesman tweeted that the Gaza operation “is over.” Some restrictions were lifted on residents of southern Israel and traffic returned to the streets of the Palestinian coastal territory.

But after hours of calm, a barrage of five rockets blasted out of the territory, setting off air raid sirens in southern Israel and testing the fragile truce. No group claimed responsibility for the new wave of rockets, but Israel did not immediately respond, an indication that the cease-fire deal was intact. The fighting first erupted early on Tuesday after Israel killed a senior commander of the Iranian-backed militant group who was said to be behind a string of rocket attacks and who Israel said was believed to be planning a cross-border infiltration.

The rarely targeted killing by Israel sparked the heaviest fighting with Gaza militants since May. Islamic Jihad fired some 450 rockets toward Israel, while Israel responded with scores of airstrikes. However, Gaza's ruling Hamas stayed out of the latest escalation — an indication it would be brief.

Israel typically does not publicly acknowledge deals with militant groups, and on Thursday officials said the only unwritten agreement was that Israel would hold fire so long as Islamic Jihad did. Military spokesmen listed a series of accomplishments after the two-day spasm of violence, including the killing of some 25 militants in targeted strikes. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the policy had “proved itself” and would continue. “Everyone who was a top military official, who was set to carry out and was involved in terror or rocket firing against Israel was eliminated,” he told Israeli Army Radio. “And we intend to continue with this.”

Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett warned Gaza militants they were not safe anywhere. “A terrorist who tries to harm Israeli citizens will not be able to sleep soundly, not in his home and not in his bed and not in any hiding place,” he said. Critics of Israel's contentious policy say it amounts to extrajudicial killings that endanger civilians.

But Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus defended the attacks on militants' private homes, saying Islamic Jihad commanders used their residences to store weapons, making them legitimate targets. Palestinian officials say 34 people were killed in the fighting, including at least 18 militants. They say, eight children, including a pair of 7-year-olds, and three women were among the dead.

The Abu Milhous family lost eight members when Israeli fighter jets dropped at least two bombs on their ground floor house in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. The airstrike flattened the tin-roofed home and pushed it into a large crater, which was littered with clothing, kitchenware, and other belongings. Later Thursday, neighbors sifted through the debris as children looked on. The rocket fire crippled life across southern Israel and on Tuesday, also in the country's heartland in and around Tel Aviv, as nonstop air-raid sirens canceled schools and forced people indoors. At least three people were lightly wounded from shrapnel or shattered glass. Most rockets landed in open areas or were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

Al-Berim, the Islamic Jihad spokesman, lauded the group's efforts against Israel, saying it “had its word, confronted the aggression,” and “defended the Palestinian people.” Shortly after al-Berim's cease-fire announcement, two rockets were fired out of Gaza, setting off sirens in southern Israel. It was not immediately clear whether the launches were intentional or misfires caused by electronic timers. Israel didn't respond.

Islamic Jihad said the fire was likely because word hadn't spread to all members about the halt to violence. The Israeli military's Home Front command tweeted that it was lifting restrictions in certain areas but leaving them in place in the areas surrounding Gaza.

In Gaza, cars could be heard back on the streets as the territory appeared to be springing back to life. Israeli military drones still buzzed overhead. U.N. and Islamic Jihad officials were in touch Wednesday with Egyptian mediators, who typically broker agreements to end fighting in Gaza, and Late Wednesday, Islamic Jihad's leader, Ziad al-Nakhalah, announced three conditions for an end to the fighting: an end to targeted killings, a halt in Israeli shootings of protesters at weekly demonstrations along the Israeli border and easing a 12-year-old Israeli blockade that has devastated Gaza's economy.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)