TEL AVIV — Israeli and Palestinian jihadists have agreed to a ceasefire ending five days of fighting between the two sides, a US official and an Israeli official told NBC News on Saturday.
The ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and will begin at 10 p.m. local time.
“Now, this agreement has been reached thanks to the constant efforts of Egypt. We appreciate this effort,” Mohamad al-Hindi told Al Kahera Wal Nas channel.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other officials.
Egypt’s Al-Qahera News TV channel reported that Cairo called on all parties to abide by the agreement.
The war has killed 33 Palestinians inside Gaza, including at least 13 civilians. Two people were killed by rockets in Israel, including an 80-year-old Israeli woman and a Palestinian man from Gaza who had a work permit in Israel.
The latest violence erupted on Tuesday when Israeli air strikes killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders. Israel said the airstrikes were in response to an earlier missile explosion last week and that its attacks were focused on Islamic Jihad targets. But residents of Gaza said the homes of people not involved in the war were also attacked.
As a reminder of the flammable situation in the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops raided the Balata refugee camp near the northern city of Nablus, triggering a shootout that left two Palestinians dead. In another incident near the northern city of Jenin, Israeli police said they shot dead a suspected Palestinian attacker who ran towards the knife-wielding soldiers.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military earlier on Saturday bombed an apartment of Islamic Jihad commander Mohammed Abu Al Atta, among other targets, including a missile launcher.
Islamic Jihad fighters fired multiple rockets at southern Israel, where tens of thousands of Israelis were instructed to stay near safe rooms and bomb shelters. Hundreds of residents near the border have been evacuated to hotels further north.
Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said Israel had made “important achievements” during the fighting and said the army was ready to continue its operation.
“We stand ready to continue targeted attacks and strike with precision and increasing numbers,” he added.
Hostilities broke out on Tuesday when Israel targeted and killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders who it said were responsible for firing missiles at the country last week. At least 10 civilians, including women, children and unrelated neighbors were killed in those initial attacks, which drew condemnation from the region.
Over the past few days, Israel has conducted more airstrikes, killing other senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroying their command centers and missile launch sites.
On Saturday, the Palestinians ventured out to assess the damage inflicted by Israeli warplanes and salvage whatever they could. A man carefully pulls documents out of the rubble. Another person brought away a mattress.
Four houses in densely populated areas were reduced to ashes in the pre-dawn attacks. The Israeli military alleges the homes targeted belonged to or were used by Islamic Jihad fighters. Residents denied the army’s claims and said they did not know why their homes were targeted.
“We don’t have any rocket launchers. This is a residential area,” said Awni Obaid, next to the debris of his three-story home in the town center of Deir al-Balah.
The nearby home of his relative, Jehad Obaid, was also razed. He was standing a few hundred meters away when his apartment was bombed.
“I felt like vomiting from the dust,” he said. “This is extraordinary hatred. They say they don’t hit children, but what we see is madness, destruction.”
The Islamic Jihad army retaliated by firing more than 1,200 rockets towards southern and central Israel, according to the military. On Friday, the group escalated attacks and fired missiles towards Jerusalem, activating air raid sirens at Israeli settlements south of the disputed capital.
Most of the rockets fell inside Gaza, landed in open areas or were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. But a missile on Thursday penetrated a missile defense system and cut through a house in downtown Rehovot, killing an 80-year-old woman and injuring several others.
Hamas, the larger militant group that has fought four wars against Israel since taking control of Gaza in 2007, has hailed Islamic Jihad attacks but has remained on the sidelines, according to military officials. Israel, limited the scope of the conflict.
When the government is in fact responsible for the dire conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Hamas has recently attempted to cover up the conflict with Israel. Islamic Jihad, on the other hand, a more ideological and unruly group of warriors married to violence, took the lead in the last few rounds of fighting with Israel.
— Sanchez and Goldman reporting from Tel Aviv; and Burke from Pittsburgh.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.
