Egyptian diplomats have announced that Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have agreed upon a ceasefire, which will take effect at 10 p.m. local time on Saturday. This comes after a rocket attack from Gaza killed a Palestinian man working in Israel and seriously wounded another. The two men were working in the Negev desert when they were hit by shrapnel. The Palestinian man's death marks the second death in Israel due to rocket fire from Gaza since hostilities broke out on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces continue to pound targets in Gaza as Palestinian militants fire more rockets.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of attacks on sites belonging to Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, accusing the group of planning attacks. Since the flare-up began on Tuesday, Israel has killed six of Islamic Jihad's commanders. The group is the second-largest armed group in Gaza after Hamas. The IDF reports that more than 1,000 rockets have been launched at Israel, and they have struck more than 250 targets in Gaza as part of their "Shield and Arrow" campaign, now in its fifth day.
Videos from Gaza show that the airstrikes appear to have hit at least two civilian homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, but no injuries were reported. The IDF claims that in the last 24 hours, they have struck operational residences used as headquarters and command and control centers by the Jihad terrorists. The military said that IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck launching sites for mortar shells and rockets "used by Islamic Jihad to fire projectiles toward Israel over the last few days."
Clashes also took place on Saturday morning in the occupied West Bank, where at least two Palestinian men were killed, and three other people were injured. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet security agency said IDF and Israel Border Police forces were raiding "a hideout belonging to terror operatives" in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank.
Talks to bring about a ceasefire between the warring groups are currently "on ice," according to a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations. The situation remains tense as both sides continue to exchange fire, resulting in casualties and the destruction of homes and infrastructure.