Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip appeared headed toward a cease-fire Sunday night after Egyptian officials said both sides agreed to a truce to end a flare-up of violence that has killed dozens of Palestinians.
The cease-fire would end the worst fighting in Gaza since an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas last year. Since Friday night, the violence has killed 43 Palestinians, including 15 children and four women.
The second Islamic Jihad commander, Khaled Mansour, was killed in an airstrike on an apartment building in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza late Saturday, which also killed two other militants and five civilians. As a funeral for Mansour began in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Israeli military said it was striking suspected “Islamic Jihad rocket launch posts.” Smoke could be seen from the strikes as thumps from their explosions rattled Gaza. Israeli airstrikes and rocket fire followed for hours as sirens wailed in central Israel. As the sunset call to prayer sounded in Gaza, sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv.
Israel said it took action against the militant group because of concrete threats of an imminent attack, but has not provided details. Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is an experienced diplomat but untested in overseeing a war, unleashed the offensive less than three months before a general election in which he is campaigning to keep the job.
Air raid sirens sounded in the Jerusalem area for the first time Sunday since last year's Israel-Hamas war.
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