Israel, Egypt and the US have agreed to a ceasefire in Southern Gaza. The ceasefire is to begin at 6 am GMT which coincides with the re-opening of Rafah border crossing. This has been reported by Reuters through two Egyptian security sources.
Israel had declared a war after Hamas had attacked Israel on a major Jewish holiday on October 7, 2023. Israeli warplanes attacked Gaza city which is home to Hamas’ centres of government on October 10. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, had vowed to retaliate against Hamas.
Gaza faced heavy bombardment by the Israeli forces over the past week. The entire Gaza city has faced the attack by the Israeli Defence Forces. The civilians in Gaza were asked to evacuate the city as the forces prepared a heavy attack on the Hamas militants.
The surprise attack by Hamas left a death toll that Israel has not witnessed since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria. Israel’s defence minister had ordered a “complete siege” of the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip soon after the attack.
Food supply, electricity and water supply to the Gaza strip were cut off by Israel. Israel had previously imposed several blockades on Gaza since Hamas came to power.
There had been efforts to reopen Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza to let foreigners leave. The opening would also allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. According to news sources, the Rafah crossing is coinciding with the ceasefire that Israel and Egypt have agreed with.
A special envoy by the US, named David Satterfield, has been lined up for the Middle East humanitarian issues. Humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza will be the focus of this special envoy.
This conflict has marked 75 years of conflict between Israel and Palestine.