Israel Truce With Gaza Strip Militants Marred by Accidental Fire

Palestinian militants said they remained committed to a truce with Israel despite an exchange of fire that marred hours of quiet achieved by a cease-fire agreement Saturday night.

(Bloomberg) — Palestinian militants said they remained committed to a truce with Israel despite an exchange of fire that marred hours of quiet achieved by a cease-fire agreement Saturday night.

The cease-fire, aimed at preventing a deeper military embroilment, put an end to days of fighting. But hostilities flared briefly after the firing of a single rocket at Israel from the Gaza Strip was followed by an Israeli airstrike on military outposts belonging to the militant Islamic group Hamas.

A joint announcement from the military wings of all Palestinian factions said the rocket launch was a mistake and due to a technical problem.

All groups are committed to the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire, the militant Palestinian factions said in a statement. Israel made no public comment.

The truce was reached in negotiations led by Egypt and halted a confrontation between Israel and the Islamic Jihad. Both sides have said they plan to stick to the cease-fire as long as the other side does as well.

During the fighting, 33 people died in Gaza, among them seven militants, Palestinian health officials said. In Israel, two people were killed by rockets, one a Palestinian worker from Gaza.

An Israeli army official put the Palestinian death toll at 32 saying that 21 of those killed were combatants, nine were civilians, and another three died in a failed rocket launch.

Gaza’s ruling militant Hamas movement, which like Islamic Jihad is backed by Iran, didn’t join last week’s fray, helping to contain the fighting.

The US, which had urged the sides to stop the bloodshed, welcomed the cease-fire and commended Egypt’s crucial role in its mediation, urging quick delivery of fuel and other critical supplies into Gaza before the power station was completely depleted on Monday.

Hundreds of rockets were fired toward Israel’s south and Tel Aviv-area heartland during the confrontation, and dozens of Israeli air assaults targeted Gaza rocket launchers, a rocket manufacturing site and other Islamic Jihad positions, the Israeli military said.

Israel embarked on this latest campaign after Islamic Jihad bombarded it with more than 100 rockets following the death of a fighter who had been on a hunger strike in an Israeli prison. It was the most violent confrontation between Israel and Gaza militants since August 2022.

Palestinian Militant’s Death in Israeli Jail Sparks Fighting

More than 100 Palestinians, including dozens of militants, have been killed in the West Bank this year. Palestinian attacks against Israel have killed at least 20 people.

–With assistance from Amy Teibel.

(Updates with truce break starting in first paragraph.)

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