GAZA/ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER, Nov 24 (Reuters) – A temporary ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas forces took hold in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the first respite in 48 days of conflict that has devastated the Palestinian enclave, but both sides warned that the war was far from over.
No big bombings, artillery strikes or rocket attacks were reported although Hamas and Israel both accused each other of sporadic shootings and other violations.
The ceasefire, which began at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), involves the release later on Friday of 13 Israeli women and children held hostage by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Additional aid is to flow into Gaza, which has been gripped by a humanitarian crisis under weeks of Israeli bombardment that has killed thousands of Palestinians.
Reuters journalists saw Israeli tanks moving away from the Gaza Strip at the northern end, and aid trucks rolling in from Egypt at the southern end. There was no sound of Israeli air force activity above northern Gaza, nor any of the contrails typically left by Palestinian rocketfire.
In Khan Younis town in southern Gaza, housing thousands of families displaced from the north, streets filled with people venturing out of home and shelters.
“We are full of hope, optimism, and pride in our resistance. We are proud of our achievements, despite the pain this caused,” resident Khaled Abu Anzah told Reuters.
Hamas confirmed that all hostilities from its forces would cease. But Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, later stressed that this was a “temporary truce”.
In a video message, he called for an “escalation of the confrontation with (Israel) on all resistance fronts”, including the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military also said fighting would resume soon.
“This will be a short pause, at the conclusion of which the war (and) fighting will continue with great might and will generate pressure for the return of more hostages,” Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, according to a Defence Ministry statement.
The Israeli military also told Palestinians not to try to return to homes in the northern part of Gaza, which it described as a “dangerous war zone”.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters burst across the border fence into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing about 240 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel has rained bombs on the Hamas-ruled enclave, killing some 14,000 Gazans, around 40% of them children, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes to escape the violence as conditions grew ever more desperate, with food, drinking water, fuel and other basic supplies running short.
It is the bloodiest episode in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel’s stated intention is to eradicate Hamas once and for all.
QUIET ON THE FRONT
Reuters observed the quiet after dawn from southern Israel, across the fence from the war zone in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, scene of intense ground combat since the start of the month. Dozens of Israeli military vehicles, including tanks, could be seen moving away from the Gaza Strip.
Gaza residents said the Israelis had dropped leaflets warning people not to travel north and have fired over the heads of some people who were trying to get back into Gaza City.
[1/22]An Israeli soldier clears an armoured personnel carrier (APC), near Israel’s border after leaving Gaza, during the temporary truce between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, in Israel, November 24, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Acquire Licensing Rights
Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Press Agency SAFA reported “intense shooting” by Israeli forces east of Khan Younis and Rafah. Al-Jazeera reported that two Palestinians were killed and another was wounded by Israeli soldiers shooting at people who tried to return to the north.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Sirens sounded in two Israeli villages outside the southern Gaza Strip, warning of possible incoming Palestinian rockets. An Israeli government spokesman said Hamas had fired rockets in violation of the truce but there were no reports of damage.
Fighting had raged in the hours leading up to the truce, with officials inside the…
Read More: Ceasefire takes hold in Gaza ahead of hostage release, aid enters enclave