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A Palestinian man holds a poster depicting senior jihadist commander Taysir al-Jabari, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City, during a rally in Ramallah. (AFP)

Israel, Palestinian militants agree to cease-fire after three days of fighting

Jmedia Manager
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Israel and Gaza militant group Islamic Jihad agreed to a cease-fire late Sunday after three days of fighting that saw more than 40 Palestinians killed and rockets fly deep into Israel’s heartland, in the most intense exchange of fire since an 11-day conflict last year.

The cease-fire, brokered by Egypt and the United Nations, came into effect at 11.30pm local time, Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian officials said.

Israel said it would “respond strongly” if the cease-fire deal was violated, but didn’t comment on its terms.

As part of the cease-fire, the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad said Egypt had pledged to the group that it would work to free two of its members from Israeli prisons. A UN team will visit one of the two men, Bassam al-Saadi, a senior commander who was recently arrested, two people familiar with the matter said.

The cease-fire comes after Israel’s military carried out a wave of airstrikes targeting what it said were Islamic Jihad members and sites since Friday, and the militant group launched hundreds of missiles at the country’s south and center. At least 44 Palestinians have been killed, including two senior militant commanders and 11 children, while 360 people have been wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

An Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday that Israeli strikes had killed 17 Palestinians, mostly militants.

Read the article by Dov Lieber and Aaron Boxerman in The Australian (from Wall Street Journal).