Arthur Greene
Israel and Palestine have agreed a ceasefire following three days of conflict in which 43 people were killed, including 15 children.
Israeli militants began striking targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday night as part of a surprise operation called “Breaking Dawn”.
At least 10 people were killed in the first round of airstrikes, including a commander of a wing of the Islamic Jihad group and a five-year-old girl.
Taysir al-Jabari, a commander of the al-Quds Brigades, was killed during a strike on an apartment block in Gaza City.
The young girl, Alaa Qaddoum, was killed alongside her father while they were riding on a motorbike to get groceries, Al Jazeera reports.
Islamic Jihad forces returned fire on Saturday, which the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) met with more strikes. Fears rose throughout the weekend of war breaking out.
By Sunday morning health authorities in Palestine reported that at least 24 people had been killed.
Conflict spilled over into Sunday but by the evening it was announced that a ceasefire had been agreed.
In the minutes after the ceasefire was announced, the IDF confirmed it was continuing to strike military targets in Gaza. Local Israeli media meanwhile reported rocket fire from Gaza.
After that, the ceasefire appears to have held, bringing an end to the bloodiest conflict between the two countries since May last year when 256 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed over two weeks.
Image source: @AJEnglish
