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Israeli and Palestinian militants ceased fire after nearly three days of violence, and Gaza’s only power plant resumed operations on Monday as Israel began reopening border crossings into the area.
Israel also lifted security restrictions on communities in southern Israel after an Egypt-mediated ceasefire came into effect late on Sunday. The fighting has waned, and the war-weary people of Gaza and Israel are picking up the slack after another round of violence – the worst since last year’s 11-day war between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli planes have attacked targets in the Gaza Strip since Friday, while the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.
During the three days of fighting, 44 Palestinians, including 15 children and four women, were killed and 311 wounded, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. Islamic Jihad said 12 of the victims were militants. Israel said some of the dead were killed by rockets fired from Gaza. No Israelites were killed.
The violence has the potential to turn into another all-out war, but as Gaza’s ruling Hamas group remains on the sidelines, possibly because it fears Israeli retaliation and undermines economic understandings with Israel, including Israel’s offer of work permits to thousands of Gaza residents to support Hamas’ control of the coastal zone.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since the group occupied the territory in 2007. Hamas has a strong incentive to avoid more conflict, taking a staggering toll on the impoverished region’s 2.3 million Palestinian residents.
The violence that erupted in Gaza is a key test for Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yar Rapid, who lacks experience leading military operations. He went on the offensive less than three months before the election, and he’s campaigning to keep the job — and may have gained a political base.
Israel began reopening border crossings into Gaza on Monday to meet humanitarian needs, saying it would fully open them if calm remained. Fuel trucks were seen entering the main cargo crossing to the power plant, which was taken offline on Saturday after Israel closed the crossing into Gaza last week. This exacerbates the pain during the summer heat in the region, which is under a suffocating Israel-Egypt blockade and suffering from a protracted power crisis that leaves residents with only a few hours of electricity per day.
The lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been disrupted by the violence. Israel’s sophisticated Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted many rockets fired at Israel, with no major casualties reported. Israel launched an attack on Islamic Jihad leaders on Friday, saying there was a “concrete threat” of anti-tank missiles against Israelis after arresting another senior Islamic Jihad member in the West Bank last week. The arrests follow months of Israeli raids in the West Bank to round up the suspects in a spate of Palestinian attacks on Israel.
It killed another Islamic Jihad leader in a strike on Saturday. Both sides boasted of their success. Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nahara told reporters in Tehran on Sunday that despite the loss of two leaders, the militant group was still strong. “This is a victory for Islamic Jihad,” he said. Nonetheless, the group undoubtedly took a hit during the fierce offensive. In addition to losing two leaders, it has also reduced its arsenal by firing hundreds of rockets. Israel said some of the deaths in the Gaza Strip were caused by aggressive rocket launches, including in the Jabaliya refugee camp where six Palestinians were killed on Saturday. On Sunday, a projectile hit a home in the same area of ​​Jabaliya, killing two men. Palestinians believe Israel was responsible for Sunday’s attack, while Israel said it was investigating whether the area was hit by a blazing rocket.
The ceasefire promised Egypt would work to free two senior Islamic Jihad prisoners held by Israel, but there was no guarantee that would happen. The weekend’s fighting is also bound to complicate the Islamic Jihad’s relationship with Hamas.
A senior Israeli diplomat said the offensive was a success and set back Islamic Jihad’s capabilities by “decades”, citing the loss of two leaders and a hit to the group’s rocket production and launch capabilities, and other blows. He declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the operation with the media. US President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire.
“Over the past 72 hours, the United States has worked with officials from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan and other countries in the region to encourage a swift resolution of the conflict,” he said in a statement on Sunday. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces demolished the homes of two Palestinians suspected of deadly attacks on Israelis in the city of Elad in May. Soldiers faced violent protests during the operation, the military said. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday over the violence. China, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, arranged the meeting at the request of the United Arab Emirates and representatives of China, France, Ireland and Norway.
“We stress that we will do everything in our power to end the ongoing escalation, ensure the safety and security of civilians, and follow up on Palestinian prisoner files,” Tor Winsland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said in a statement. The Israeli army said militants in the Gaza Strip fired about 1,100 rockets at Israel, with about 200 of them falling inside the Palestinian enclave. The military said its air defenses intercepted 380 of them, two of whom opened fire on Jerusalem. The military did not specify what happened to the rest, but it is likely they fell in the open or dispersed in the air. Islamic Jihad has fewer fighters and supporters than Hamas, and little is known about its arsenal. Both groups have called for the destruction of Israel but have different priorities, with Hamas being limited by the demands of power.
Over the past year, Israel and Hamas have reached a tacit understanding based on a calm in exchange for work permits and a slight easing of the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt when Hamas occupied the territory 15 years ago.
Israel has issued 12,000 work permits to Gaza workers and holds the prospect of issuing 2,000 more.
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