The decision came after heavy pressure from the United Nations and United States to halt the offensive.
Israeli media reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet confirmed the decision to approve a “mutual and unconditional” ceasefire hours before. A Hamas official confirmed a “mutual and simultaneous” truce from 2:00am local time (AEST 9:00am) Friday morning.
In the lead up to the ceasefire deadline mentioned by Hamas, there were reports of Palestinian rockets being fired and at least one air strike by Israel.
Hamas is a Palestinian militant Islamist group which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and it is deemed a terrorist organisation in the West and by Israel.
A statement by Netanyahu’s office said the Security Cabinet had “unilaterally accepted the recommendation” for a ceasefire by an Egyptian-mediated proposal.
“The political leaders emphasized that the reality on the ground will be that which determines the future of the campaign,” the statement said.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz wrote on Twitter that the Gaza offensive had yielded “unprecedented military gains”.
A Hamas official told the Associated Press that the ceasefire announced by Israel amounts to a “victory for the Palestinian people” and a defeat for the Israeli Prime Minister.
Since the fighting began on May 10, the Gaza Health Ministry said at least 230 Palestinians, including 65 children and 39 women, had been killed and more than 1900 wounded in aerial bombings. Israel has said at least 150 militants are among those killed in Gaza.
12 people in Israel, including two children, have been killed, with hundreds of people treated for injuries in rocket attacks.
A timeline summary on the 11-day Israel-Hamas conflict
Palestinian worshippers begin throwing stockpiled stones and other objects at Israeli police. Israeli police fire stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets into the mosque compound. More than 200 people are injured in the clash.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”May 8 through May 9:”]A second night of violence erupts in East Jerusalem after tens of thousands of worshippers pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque for Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night of Ramadan.
Israeli police and protesters clash outside the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City. Palestinian crowds throw stones and light fires, with Israeli police using water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas against crowds of Palestinians. More than 120 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police are injured.
Tensions remain high the following day and more clashes take place in Sheikh Harrah and at Damascus Gate.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”May 10:”]Early morning clashes break out between Israeli police and Palestinians at al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where crowds throw stones and officers fire stun grenades.
Palestinian anger is intensified by the annual Jerusalem Day march planned for later in the day to celebrate Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in 1967. Israeli authorities redirect the march to avert further violence, but the atmosphere remains volatile with more than 300 Palestinians and 21 Israeli police injured at al-Aqsa Mosque.
In the afternoon, Hamas sends an ultimatum, threatening to attack if Israel does not withdraw its armed forces from the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah by 18:00. As the deadline passes without an Israeli response, rockets are fired towards Jerusalem for the first time in years.
Israel responds by launching airstrikes on Gaza, killing 28 people, including civilians, and threatens an expanded response lasting days, including a ground invasion.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”May 11 through May 12:”]The exchange of fire continues, intensifies, and targets more cities. Hamas rains rockets down on Tel Aviv after an Israeli air strike destroys a Gaza City tower block where senior Hamas officials are said to have offices. In other attacks, Israel kills a group of Hamas military figures along with dozens of civilians.
In mixed Jewish-Arab towns, riots flare up as Israel declares a state of emergency. More than 400 people, Jews and Arabs, are arrested.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”May 13 through May 16:”]As Israel and Hamas continue to exchange fire, demonstrations across the West Bank and Jordan turn violent. Palestinian health officials announce that Israeli forces have killed 11 protesters.
Hours later, a strike flattens a building in Gaza City housing US news agency, the Associated Press, and Qatar-based, Al Jazeera television. Each agency was given warning of the attack and told to evacuate.
On May 16, Israel says strikes destroyed the home of Hamas’ political leader in Gaza. This day marks the highest daily death toll at 42.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”May 17 through May 19:”]Violence erupts again in East Jerusalem and across the West Bank after Palestinian President, Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah, calls for a “day of anger”.
On May 18, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, push for a truce – putting pressure on U.S President Joe Biden to act.
Biden expressed support for a ceasefire in a phone call to Netanyahu, telling him he expects “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire”.[/icon_timeline_item][icon_timeline_item time_title=”May 21″]
Israel and Hamas’ rulers agree for a truce to begin at 2:00am local time. Within minutes of the announcement, in the countdown to the ceasefire, the sides were exchanging fire again, but there were no casualties reported.
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Heaviest conflict since 2014
Following the news of the truce, President Biden pledged to salve the devastated Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid.
Palestinians, many of whom had spent huddled in fear of Israeli attacks, poured onto Gaza’s streets in celebration.
A Hamas official said that Israel must end its violations in Jerusalem and address damages from the attack of Gaza following the ceasefire, warning the group still had its “hands on the trigger”.
