Ceasefire to be announced in Gaza on Sunday: Sources
A ceasefire in Gaza is set to take place later on Sunday at 1700 GMT or 8pm local time, according to Islamic Jihad sources and Egypt’s mediation team, Al Jazeera’s correspondent has reported.
Palestinians in Gaza hold funeral processions for Khaled Mansour, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and others killed in Israeli attacks on the Strip.
Husam Zomlot, Palestine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom has said Israel’s pre-emptive attack on Gaza is a “war crime” and that pro-Israel statements from countries like the US and UK were giving Israel the “green light” to continue its attack in the besieged coastal strip.
“You base your entire bombardment of an entire city that is Gaza … that is besieged for the last 16 years by air, besieged by land, besieged by sea – and you attack them every once in a while under the pretext of information. This is a very well defined war crime,” he told Al Jazeera from Ramallah.
“Under international law, the only people who have rights here are the occupied people. They have the right to defend themselves and their children and families to defend their land and therefore this whole talk of Israel’s right to self defense to defend itself as per the US statements the UK statements, some Western country’s statement is simply giving Israel account launch a green light to continue its murderous policies, to continue its war crimes.”
Al Jazeera’s Safwat al-Kahlout reporting from Gaza says people are “looking forward” to a ceasefire soon as life has “completely stopped” amid Israel’s attack that has been ongoing since Friday.
“The humanitarian conditions are deteriorating and since the power station stopped yesterday, people are living with only four hours of power,” he added.
A Palestinian mortar bomb attack damaged the shuttered Israel-Gaza Erez border crossing on Sunday, the Israeli Defence Ministry has said.
“The terminal roof was damaged as a result of the fire, and shrapnel fell into the entrance hall, an area that is used to facilitate the daily passage of thousands of Gazans that work in Israel,” the Defence Ministry said. No casualties have been reported.
There are conflicting reports on a potential ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad taking hold on Sunday night.
Earlier, sources told Al Jazeera a truce would be announced in the coming hours. But according to Al Jazeera’s Safwat Al Kahlout, another Islamic Jihad official said nothing had been agreed upon just yet.
“Yes they are working on specific details but the agreement has not been reached yet. On the ground the rockets are still being launched and Israeli raids are continuing,” he said from Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim reporting from West Jerusalem says an Israeli source did not confirm reports of a ceasefire being reached in Gaza.
“It’s not a certainty … we did receive word the negotiations on progress toward a ceasefire continue. There were indications all day that Israel is keen to wrap up this operation,” she added.
According to a media report, Ghoneim said the thinking was that “now is the time to wrap up the operation”.
“The objectives had been met and there were concerns about mistakes being made that could lead to a wider conflict. The general thinking among Israeli pundits is that the longer this operation continues, the greater the misery and death toll in Gaza, the greater likelihood that perhaps Hamast might enter the fray and that of course is not something that Israel wants,” she said.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has called on all parties to refrain from targeting civilians and “work towards an immediate ceasefire” after Israel’s attack on Gaza has left 29 people dead in the past several days.
“Every single escalation of violence in Gaza comes at the cost of ordinary people, who pay the highest price for military actions,” NRC’s Middle East Regional Director Carsten Hansen said.
“Innocent children and families have been caught up in the vicious circle of violence for as long as they can remember. Many in Gaza are still recovering— both psychologically and physically — from last year’s eleven-day crisis,” Hansen added.
Al Jazeera’s Youmna El Sayed reporting from the Gaza Strip says a ceasefire is likely to be announced at 5pm local time (1400 GMT) according to the mediation team from Egypt and Islamic Jihad sources.
“There is going to be an announcement of a ceasefire effect taking effect at 1700 GMT, that is 8pm local time. Right now the raids are still going on as are the rocket launches,” El Sayed said. “Before any ceasefire agreement in previous wars, those are critical hours where a lot of targeting takes place,” she added.
Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza marks the latest bout of violence since the 11-day war in May 2021 killed hundreds and wounded thousands.
Israeli forces have launched similar attacks since 2005, when they withdrew from the coastal enclave home to 2.3 million people.
August 2005 – Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza 38 years after capturing it from Egypt, abandoning settlements and leaving it under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
January 2006 – Hamas, an armed group, wins the majority of seats in a Palestinian legislative election.
The chairman of the African Union Commission has condemned Israeli air attacks in the Gaza Strip as violence escalates in the Palestinian enclave.
“Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemns the continued air strike attacks by Israel on Gaza that have killed more than 30 Palestinian civilians, including 6 children,” an AU statement said.
The statement added that the “targeting of civilians and the continued illegal occupation by Israeli security forces of the Occupied Territories, are in stark violation of international law, and complicate the search for a just and lasting solution.”
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group has said it fired rockets at Jerusalem as the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip continues for a third day.
Al-Quds Brigades, the movement’s military wing, said in a statement it “fired rockets” at the city soon after air raid sirens were activated and explosions heard, marking the first time Jerusalem was targeted in this round of violence.
Israeli air raids have killed at least 31 people, including six children, across the Gaza Strip. More than 250 others have been wounded.
The Israeli attacks on Gaza have destroyed apartment buildings and struck refugee camps. The Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad has responded by firing rockets towards Israel. According to Israeli media, most of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system and no serious injuries were reported.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has issued a statement, warning only 48 hours remain to “run without fuel needed to sustain operations of the standby generators in the hospitals”.
The ministry said it will have no capacity to run hospitals after the power plant shut down due to a lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip.
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory has said Israel’s attacks on Gaza are not only “illegal but irresponsible”, calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
“The situation in Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis,” Francesca Albanez told Al Jazeera. “The only way to secure wellness of Palestinians wherever they are is to lift the siege and allow aid to enter.”
Albanez also blasted the United States for saying that it believed Israel had the right to defend itself. “Israel cannot claim that it’s defending itself in this conflict,” she said.
Source: Al Jazeera
