JERUSALEM (JTA) — Under a Hamas-brokered deal, armed groups in Gaza have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel.
The deal completed Sunday under the auspices of Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said however that the groups would respond to Israeli attacks.
"Al-Qassam Brigades will not stand idly by in case of a Zionist escalation and will defend ourselves with all our force," read the statement, according to the French news agency AFP.
The deal was completed shortly before Israel responded to a Kassam attack from Gaza by striking two Gaza weapons production factories and a smuggling tunnel.
The attacks overnight Saturday were in response to the firing from Gaza of a Kassam rocket at the southern Israeli city of Sderot on Saturday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces. No injuries or damage were reported in the Kassam attack.
Six people were injured in the attack on the Gaza targets, Palestinian sources told Israeli media.
About 15 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip in the past month.
"The IDF will not tolerate any attacks by terror organizations against Israel and its citizens," the IDF said in a news release.
