Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 12, 2022

The military on Monday announced that it was removing all security restrictions put in place during several days of fighting with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as a ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza-based terror group held.

The Egyptian-mediated deal, which went into effect at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, ended a three-day conflict that began Friday with Israeli strikes that killed a top PIJ commander.

Palestinian terrorists fired around 1,100 rockets toward Israeli territory, while the Israel Defense Forces pummeled Islamic Jihad targets and killed another of the Iran-backed organizations top military leaders in Gaza.

In a statement Monday morning, the IDF initially announced the gradual rollback of safety precautions, including the reopening of roads near the Gaza border. Roads in the area were first shuttered last week after Israel arrested PIJs West Bank leader, prompting threats of retaliation by the terror group that helped precipitate the weekends fighting.

The IDF said residents of communities in the so-called Gaza envelope area no longer needed to remain near a bomb shelter, and regular train service between the southern cities of Ashkelon and Sderot was due to resume at noon.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories

Later on Monday morning, the Eshkol Regional Council informed residents of the southern Israeli region, which was battered heavily by rockets from Gaza during Operation Breaking Dawn, of a full return to routine.

Surfers enjoy the early morning in the Mediterranean Sea off the southern coastal city of Ashkelon on August 8, 2022, following a ceasefire between the Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A statement from the council said limits on gatherings and workplaces will be lifted and that educational activities and agricultural work can resume. It added that public swimming pools can also reopen.

The military said in a later statement that all restrictions on the numbers of participants permitted at gatherings were officially removed.

Also Monday, the military liaison to the Palestinians announced that crossings between Israel and Gaza would reopen for humanitarian purposes after a security assessment.

A fuel truck enters the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel on August 8, 2022 (SAID KHATIB / AFP)

The reopening allowed renewed fuel shipments into Gaza, after the closures led the Strips sole power plant to drastically reduce operations. Later Monday, the local electricity company announced the power plant was again generating electricity after fuel trucks crossed from Gaza into Israel.

The Defense Ministry body, widely known by its acronym COGAT, said a meeting to consider a full reopening of the crossings will be held if calm is maintained in the south.

Citing security sources, Army Radio reported that the Erez terminal between Israel and Gaza could be reopened to Palestinian laborers as soon as Tuesday if calm is maintained. Workers were barred from entering Israel through the crossing on Monday morning.

Erez, which serves as the sole pedestrian crossing for Palestinians in the coastal enclave, was struck Sunday by mortars launched from Gaza, according to the Defense Ministry.

Damage is caused to the roof of the Erez Crossing near the border with the Gaza Strip, August 7, 2022. (Defense Ministry)

The ministry said the terminal roof was damaged as a result of a fire and shrapnel fell into the entrance hall. No one was injured as the crossing which is usually used by thousands of Palestinians to enter Israel each day for work was shuttered last week amid the threat of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad attack on the border and remained closed amid the fighting.

According to the IDF, Palestinian terrorists fired over 1,100 rockets toward Israel during the fighting, around 380 of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, with a success rate of 95-97 percent. The military estimated that around 200 projectiles failed to clear the border and landed inside the Strip.

Israels Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a rocket launched by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip, above the southern coastal city of Ashkelon on August 7, 2022. (Jack Guez/AFP)

In a briefing to reporters, an IDF spokesperson said the military believes 51 people were killed in Gaza during the fighting, 24 of them terrorists from Islamic Jihad.

According to the military, 16 people uninvolved in the hostilities were killed by Gazan rockets that fell short.

A further 11 people were killed who were not affiliated with terror groups, meaning that a total of 27 Gazan civilians including a number of children were killed in the fighting.

A Palestinian man inspects a cemetery which was damaged during fighting at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on August 8, 2022. The mans white T-shirt says the word Shalom, or Peace in Hebrew (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

The Gaza Health Ministry, run by Hamas, said that at least 44 Palestinians had been killed, including 15 children, and 360 people had been wounded since Friday.

Several Israelis were lightly injured by shrapnel during the fighting, or by while running for shelter when the rocket sirens sounded.

Millions were forced to shelter from barrages of rockets fired from Gaza, some of which reached as far as Tel Aviv and towns around Jerusalem.

AFP contributed to this report.

It's not (only) about you.

Supporting The Times of Israel isnt a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.

Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.

You're a dedicated reader

Were really pleased that youve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

Thats why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.

So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we havent put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.

For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

Originally posted here:

As Gaza ceasefire holds, Israel lifts all security restrictions - The Times of Israel

Category: Israel
Tags: