Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Gaza's Hamas Rulers Say Cease-Fire Reached With Israel
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
May 30, 2018

Share

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Hamas rulers said Wednesday they had agreed to a cease-fire with Israel to end the largest flare-up of violence between the two sides since a 2014 war.
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said Egyptian mediators intervened “after the resistance succeeded in warding off the aggression.” He said militant groups in Gaza will commit to the cease-fire as long as Israel does.

“When they try us, they pay immediately. And if they continue to try us, they will pay a lot more.” — Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Cabinet minister Arieh Deri told Israel’s Army Radio that he expected calm to be restored.
“If it will be quiet, we will respond with quiet. We’ve given Hamas a chance to prove that we can return to routine … If they release the reins there will be a very painful strike,” he said. “There is a good chance that the routine will be restored after the blow the army unleashed on them.”

Israelis Strike Dozens of Sites

The Israeli military struck dozens of militant sites in Gaza overnight as rocket fire continued toward southern Israeli communities into early Wednesday morning, setting off air raid sirens in the area throughout the night.
The military said it hit drone storage facilities, military compounds, and rocket and munition workshops across the Gaza Strip. The overnight Hamas rocket fire reached the city of Netivot for the first time since the 2014 war. A home was struck, but no one was wounded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel gave Palestinian militant groups in Gaza “the strongest blow dealt to them in years,” and warned against renewed rocket fire.
“When they try us, they pay immediately. And if they continue to try us, they will pay a lot more,” Netanyahu said at a ceremony in Tel Aviv.

Neither Side Escalated Hostilities

But neither Israel nor the Palestinian factions in Gaza went full bore in their attacks, a sign that neither side was interested in escalating hostilities. Militants in Gaza did not fire long-range rockets at Israel’s major cities, as they did in 2014, and Israeli airstrikes zeroed in on only unmanned military targets.
With neither side appearing interested in a full-blown conflict, a tense calm appeared to be holding Wednesday as Israeli children went to school in the morning.
The border area has been tense in recent weeks as Palestinians have held mass protests aimed at lifting an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007.
Israeli fire has killed more than 110 Palestinians, most of them during the Hamas-led protests, which climaxed on May 14.

Israel, Hamas Have Waged Three Wars Since 2007

Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies and have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.
The last war, in 2014, was especially devastating, with over 2,000 Palestinians killed, including hundreds of civilians, and widespread damage inflicted on Gaza’s infrastructure in 50 days of fighting. Seventy-two people were killed on the Israeli side.

Israeli-Egyptian Blockade Cripples Economy

A crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade, imposed when Hamas took power, has meanwhile brought the local economy to a standstill.
Hamas initially billed the weekly border protests as a call to break through the fence and return to homes that were lost 70 years ago during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment. But the protests appear to be fueled primarily by a desire to ease the blockade. Gaza’s unemployment rate is edging toward 50 percent, and the territory suffers from chronic power outages.
After Gaza militants fired some 30 mortars shells early Tuesday, Israel responded fiercely, threatening to set off another round of confrontations.
The Israeli military said most of the projectiles fired Tuesday were intercepted, but three soldiers were wounded. One mortar shell landed in a kindergarten shortly before it opened, wounding one person.
Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, the chief military spokesman, threatened tougher action and said it was up to Hamas to prevent the situation from escalating.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

DON'T MISS

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

DON'T MISS

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

UP NEXT

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

UP NEXT

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

4 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

4 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

7 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

8 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

8 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

8 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

8 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

8 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

8 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

9 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Russia’s escalating bombardment of Ukraine had left him concerned that Russia did not want to end ...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

3 hours ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

3 hours ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

4 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

4 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

7 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

8 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

8 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend