Speaking on Thursday morning, the Islamic Jihad’s spokesman, Musab al-Braim, confirmed earlier reports of the truce, saying the ceasefire came into force at 5:30 a.m. local time (3:30 GMT), Reuters reported.

Braim said Tel Aviv had agreed to both ends its targeted killings of Palestinian resistance fighters and lethal gunfire at weekly Palestinian demonstrations against occupation near the fence separating the Gaza Strip from the Israeli-occupied territories.

“The ceasefire began under Egyptian sponsorship after the Occupation (Israel) submitted to the conditions set by Islamic Jihad on behalf of Palestinian resistance factions,” Braim told Reuters.

Earlier, Egyptian sources said the “ceasefire agreement comes as a result of Egypt’s efforts” and has been endorsed by “Palestinian factions including Islamic Jihad.”

The Tel Aviv regime had agreed to the Islamic Jihad’s key demands in exchange for the resistance group to stop firing rockets into the occupied territories and ensure the Gaza rallies are peaceful.

There has been no confirmation so far from the Israeli side.

Nonetheless, shortly after the ceasefire, rocket warning sirens were reportedly sounded south of the occupied lands.

On Wednesday night, Ziad al-Nakhala, the Islamic Jihad secretary-general, said the resistance group had laid out a list of demands for the ceasefire with Israel to Egyptian moderators.

“We gave specific conditions for a ceasefire,” he told the Beirut-headquartered Al Mayadeen TV channel. “If Israel accepts them, we will accept a ceasefire.”

“If Israel does not accept them, we are going to continue to fight for an open period of time,” he warned.

The Islamic Jihad’s “simple and humble” demands include an end to assassinations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Israeli troops not firing at innocent civilians during Gaza protests, and Tel Aviv abiding by the understandings regarding Gaza reached in Cairo during previous ceasefire negotiations, Nakhala explained, according to Press TV.

The escalation erupted early on Tuesday, when Israel assassinated senior Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata, along with his wife, in a targeted strike on their home in Gaza.

A similar strike also hit the home of another Islamic Jihad commander in Syria on Tuesday, but missed the target.

Israel continued its deadly air raids on the besieged coastal sliver, killing 30 other Palestinians and injuring 97 others over the past two days.

Ata’s assassination sparked Palestinian retaliatory attacks into the occupied territories.

A total of 300 rockets are estimated to have been launched from Gaza, reaching as far as Tel Aviv and shutting schools in the occupied territories’ central and southern areas.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said Israel is hiding the true extent of destruction caused by retaliatory rocket attacks.

“We challenge the Zionist military censorship to reveal pictures and videos showing the extent of the destruction of factories, headquarters and settler houses in the occupied cities,” he wrote.

The post Israel Agreed with Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Demands appeared first on Iran News Daily.

In a statement, Al-Quds Brigades confirmed that Israel killed Palestine commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, 42, in an Israeli aerial assault on his Gaza home early on Tuesday, adding that the group was on “maximum alert.”

It further said Ata’s wife had also been killed during the Israeli air raid.

Additionally, the resistance group stressed that its commander was heroically defending the Palestinian land against conspiracies prior to his martyrdom, according to Press TV.

It also vowed to continue in the footsteps of its assassinated commander in order to “complete the process of liberation of entire beloved Palestine. Our response will inevitably shock the Zionist entity.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has confirmed its strike against a building where Ata was present in Gaza’s Shejaiya area.

The operation, it added, had been recommended by the Chief of Staff and Shin Bet domestic security service, and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It also blamed Ata for recent rocket, drone and sniper attacks against Israel, as well as attempted infiltration into the occupied territories, claiming that he had been planning “imminent” attacks.

“Abu al-Ata was responsible for most of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activity in the Gaza Strip and was a ticking bomb,” the Israeli army said.

Separately, the Hamas resistance movement said Israel “bears full responsibility for all consequences of this escalation” and pledged that al-Ata’s death “will not go unpunished.”

Shortly after the Israeli strike, Palestinians launched a salvo of rockets into the occupied territories, setting off sirens in Tel Aviv, Sderot, and Ashdod.

“Non-essential” workers in Tel Aviv and central cities have been told to stay home. Schools and universities are closed. A ban on public gatherings is also in place.

The Israeli army said Gaza-based Palestinian resistance fighters had pounded the occupied-territories with “substantial” rocket fire Tuesday.

“There is substantial fire,” army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told journalists in a conference call. “We are preparing for a number of days of fighting.”

The assassination is likely to fuel tensions between Tel Aviv and Gaza, which has been under a crippling siege by Israel since 2007 and witnessed three wars since 2008.

Gaza has also witnessed deadly tensions since March 30, 2018, which marked the start of the Great March of Return protests, with participants demanding the right to return for the Palestinians driven out of their homeland.

The post Israel Killed Palestine Commander; Resistance Responded appeared first on Iran News Daily.