Islamic Jihad violates ceasefire minutes after going into effect
Minutes leading up to 11:30 p.m. ceasefire were marked by last-minute rocket barrage aimed at Israel
Eight minutes after a ceasefire had gone into effect after three days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a fresh round of rockets were launched at Israel.
The truce followed a steady barrage of rockets this evening aimed at Israel extending from the towns in the Gaza periphery to Beersheva and the Tel Aviv area. The Israel Defense Forces also took aim at more targets in the minutes leading up to the 11:30 p.m. deadline.
For eight minutes the ceasefire held before another round of rockets flew into Israel when alarms sounded again in the Gaza periphery.
Close to 1,000 rockets were fired from Gaza since Friday. The Israeli Air Force destroyed several PIJ rocket launchers, the IDF said.
Earlier in the evening, Israel thanked Egypt for its efforts in negotiating the ceasefire and said in a statement that it "maintains the right to respond strongly" if it is violated.
"We will not allow any disruption to the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel," the head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate said in a statement.
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, 43 Palestinians have been killed. The IDF noted that some were killed by errant Islamic Jihad rockets.
No Israelis have been killed but some homes sustained direct hits by rockets or mortars.
Fighting erupted on Friday after Israel took preemptive strikes on PIJ targets in Gaza, killing a senior commander in the terror organization and a cell preparing to launch an anti-tank missile attack against Israel. The terror group responded with a barrage of rockets which essentially last 48 hours.
This followed a week of tension brought on by Israel's arrest of a senior PIJ commander in the West Bank on Monday.
After the initial ceasefire violation which lasted several minutes, calm appeared to be holding.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
