Report: Israel and Hamas Agree To Gaza Cease Fire

It’s not official yet, and we had similar rumors yesterday that never materialized, but there are reports that Hamas and Israel have agreed to a cease fire in Gaza:

(Reuters) – Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a Gaza ceasefire deal, said a Palestinian official with knowledge of Egyptian mediation between the two sides.

The official declined to be named or to give further information.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the news, which came on the eighth day of intensive Israeli fire on the Gaza Strip and militant rocket attacks out of the Palestinian territory.

This news comes mere hours after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb on a bus in Tel Aviv, wounding 15 people. As I noted, there were rumors of a cease fire yesterday that never materialized so we’ll have to wait and see what actually happens.

Update: Further details from CNN:

Near the Israel-Gaza border (CNN) – A cease-fire agreement has been reached to end the hostilities in Gaza, Egypt’s foreign minister announced Wednesday at a news conference.

The cease-fire was scheduled to take effect at 9 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said.

The agreement came hours after militants exploded a bomb on a public transport bus in Tel Aviv, injuring 24 people.

The question now, of course, is how long this cease fire actually holds.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Geek, Esq. says:

    So, we can end the period of active bloodshed and return to the prior state of utter hopelessness of a negotiated resolution for the dispute.

  2. michael reynolds says:

    @Geek, Esq.:

    Yay!

  3. C. Clavin says:

    Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
    As long as these imbeciles insist on combining religion and politics it will always be thus.
    For the life of me I have no idea why we support Israel to the level we do.

  4. rodney dill says:

    …between each other?

  5. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    I wonder if this will actually be a “cease fire,” or yet another period where Hamas just reduces the attacks? That’s what the world calls a “cease fire” — Israel stop shooting, the Palestinians just throttle it back a bit.