Palestinian agree ceasefire after exchange of fire with Israel

After firing the rockets in retaliation for Israel’s killing of four Palestinian protesters

GAZA/JERUSALEM: Palestinian militants said on Saturday they would halt attacks into Israel from the Gaza Strip after they fired the heaviest rocket salvoes across the border since August.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one of the armed groups that operates in Gaza, said it had fired the rockets in retaliation for Israel’s killing of four Palestinian protesters on Friday near the border.



Israel in response struck dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the militants said an Egyptian-mediated truce had been reached.

“After contacts between the Islamic Jihad leadership and the brothers in Egypt it was agreed that a comprehensive ceasefire will begin immediately,” spokesperson Daoud Shehab said. “The Islamic Jihad will abide by the ceasefire if the occupation (Israel) does the same.”



Earlier, Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus accused Syria and Iran of involvement in the rocket attack.

“Orders and incentives were given from Damascus with a clear involvement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards al-Quds force,” Conricus told reporters. “Our response is not limited geographically.”