A truce between Israel and militant factions in Gaza appears to be holding as normal life resumes on both sides Sunday following the deal formally taking effect since 10pm the night before.
The past five days of fighting, which saw hundreds of rockets fired from the strip - mainly by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group - resulted in sustained massive Israeli airstrikes against targets in Gaza. This resulted in 34 Palestinians killed, among them some of PIJ's senior commandos. An Israeli was killed when a Palestinian rocket slammed into an apartment complex, and there were multiple others injured.
Egypt brokered the ceasefire, and was thanked on Sunday by both sides for its mediation. "In the light of the agreement of the Palestinian and the Israeli side, Egypt announces a ceasefire between the Palestinian and the Israeli side has been reached," a text of the official ceasefire agreement reads.
"The two sides will abide by the ceasefire which will include an end to targeting civilians, house demolition, an end to targeting individuals immediately when the ceasefire goes into effect," it said.
Islamic Jihad confirmed its adherence to the deal in a statement: “We declare our acceptance of the Egyptian announcement and we will abide by it as long as the occupation [Israel] abides by it," according to a PIJ spokesman.
Meanwhile Reuters correspondents have confirmed that "Life on both sides of the Gaza Strip border began returning to normal on Sunday after an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire halted five days of fighting between Israel and Islamic Jihad," and further:
Israel reopened its goods and commercial border crossings, allowing fuel to flow to the lone power plant in the blockaded coastal enclave. Shops and public offices reopened and crowds returned to streets that had been deserted for days.
The flare-up is being called the worst fighting since a 10-day war in 2021. Israel's bombardment of the strip resulted in over 50 homes destroyed and some 950 people displaced, according to UN officials.
As for total of wounded, local health authorities have cited at least 190 Palestinians, while on the Israeli side 30 were injured - most of them while running to shelters seeking cover under rocket fire.