Israel, Hamas begins truce in Gaza

Gaza: Israel and Palestine spent a first calm night since tensions between the two sides escalated earlier in May, according to Sputnik correspondents.

On Thursday, the Israeli security cabinet unanimously adopted Egypt’s initiative for a bilateral unconditional ceasefire, which took effect at 23:00 GMT on Thursday following 11 days of rocket attacks and airstrikes. The Gaza Strip-based Hamas movement has also agreed to abide by the truce.

A Sputnik correspondent in Tel Aviv said that no air raid sirens had sounded in Israel’s central cities, while the military did not report any alarms in the country’s most-hit southern areas since the truce announcement. Additionally, there was no information about Israel’s airstrikes against Hamas targets after 23:00 GMT.

Meanwhile, a Sputnik correspondent in Gaza said that the past night across Palestine was quiet.

During the recent round of escalation, Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave have killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, while Hamas rocket attacks have killed 12 people in Israel, according to authorities. According to the Israel’s military, Hamas had fired around 4,340 rockets at Israel during the flare-up. (UNI)

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