IDF airstrike on Islamic Jihad anti-tank lookout post in the Gaza Strip
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Israel has agreed to an immediate truce ceasefire in the fighting with the Gaza Strip’s Islamic Jihad terrorist group, according to Arab media reports on Thursday.
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Saudi channel Al-Hadath reported that Jerusalem told Egyptian mediators that it was ready for a truce. Israel, however, did not confirm the report.
Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya has reported that Israel has informed Cairo it will transfer the body of the prisoner Khader Adnan to the Palestinians next week. Adnan, a senior Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank, died in an Israeli prison after a three-month hunger strike.
According to the report, Israel did not link the release of the body to the cease-fire negotiations with Islamic Jihad - but returning the body is reportedly one of the terms set by the terror organization.
Adnan’s death last week ignited the current escalation against the organization. Israel insists that it did not intend to keep the body and would have returned it to the Palestinians at some point.
IDF strike on Islamic Jihad posts in Gaza
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Meanwhile, an Islamic Jihad official was quoted by Al Arabiya as claiming that Israel committed to stopping targeted killings "unless in specific cases" under its agreements with Egypt. The claim is believed to be targeted at Palestinian audiences. A halt to targeted killings was reportedly another demand set by Islamic Jihad in the negotiations for a cease-fire.
Al Arabiya also reported that Islamic Jihad also demanded a ban on the Flag March on Jerusalem Day. Israel has already announced that the march will follow its planned route through the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.
An Israeli government official denied the Arab media reports of an Israeli agreement to a cease-fire, stating that it has not yet been achieved. "There are negotiations with Egypt, but we have not promised them anything," the official said, stressing that Israel did not commit to stopping targeted killings. "They can ask for a halt on targeted killings, but we are not committed to it.”
Islamic Jihad continues to insist that an end to targeted killings is a precondition to a cease-fire while the number of IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip has decreased, and so did rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
An Islamic Jihad official announced to the media in Gaza that Egypt invited Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Al-Nakhalah to Cairo to discuss the details of the cease-fire - but it was decided to send the head of the political department Mohamed Al-Hindi instead.
"He will only listen to the Egyptian argument regarding the cease-fire and will assure Egypt that the first condition will be an end to targeted killings," the official said.
The military wing of Islamic Jihad announced that the organization will "avenge" the targeted killing of Ali Hassan Ghali, head of the organization’s rocket unit, whom the IDF assassinated in a targeted strike in Khan Younis early Thursday. The announcement was made during the funeral of Ghali and two other Islamic Jihad operatives killed in the pre-dawn strike, one of them is Ghali’s brother.
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Islamic Jihad commander Ali Hassan Ghali and his brother Muhammed's funeral in Gaza, Thursday
(Photo: AFP)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip can still ramp up.
"I instructed the security forces to take all necessary measures to prepare for further actions and maintain a high level of readiness to the possibility of the expansion of the range of fire,” he said after a briefing with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar
(Photo: Defense Ministry)
Meanwhile, rocket sirens wailed again in several Gaza border area communities. Two rockets have reportedly crashed near two residential buildings in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom in the Ashkelon Regional Council. No casualties were reported, and there was minor property damage.
An IDF spokesperson reported that an IDF fighter jet attacked an Islamic Jihad anti-tank lookout post in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides expressed his concern over the ongoing rocket launches from the Gaza Strip toward Israel and said that Washington was working towards a quick resolution to the conflict.
"Concerned about the continuing rocket launches today. We stand by Israel’s right to defend itself. Working towards a quick deescalation," he tweeted.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service teams have reportedly provided medical treatment to 32 people across the country since the beginning of Operation Shield and Arrow. Fifteen of the injured were lightly wounded while running for the bomb shelter, and an additional 17 suffered from shock.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday night on the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. Council member states requested a statement regarding rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli attacks in the region, but the U.S. blocked the move.
UN envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland expressed concern about the deteriorating situation and called on the Security Council to speak with one voice and convey messages to both sides regarding the need to calm tensions.
First published: 13:55, 05.11.23