(JTA) — The main Palestinian factions in Gaza announced a new ceasefire with Israel.
An Islamic Jihad leader announced the ceasefire early Friday and said it was mediated by Egypt, the Associated Press reported. The ceasefire was supposed to go into effect at 1 p.m. local time, According to the AP. A Hamas spokesman told the AP that all key factions had signed on to the ceasefire. On Friday, a Grad rocket fired from Gaza landed outside the Israeli city of Ashkelon, The Jerusalem Post reported.
A previous ceasefire declared by the Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday quickly fell apart. An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians on Thursday who, the Israeli military said, had fired mortar shells at the Erez border crossing between Israel and Gaza, damaging the facility. Palestinians identified the two as Islamic Jihad members.
The IDF spokesperson reported that the damage to the crossing was repaired and that it was operating as usual.
At one point on Thursday, the Israeli military reported 15 rockets and mortar shells were fired toward Israel from Gaza over the course of the day. There were no reported casualties from the attacks, according to Haaretz.
Haaretz cited Palestinian sources who said that seven people in Gaza were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Thursday night.
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