Uneasy calm in Gaza after Hamas-Israel deal
A fragile calm has taken hold in the besieged Gaza Strip as a deal between Hamas and Israel appears to be holding.
The deal, brokered by Egyptian and United Nations officials, was designed to restore calm and end the Israeli onslaught on Hamas positions and other violence that resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians and one Israeli soldier on Friday.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum announced the deal early on Saturday morning, saying that it had been active from midnight local time on Friday.
"We reached [an agreement] to return to the previous state of calm between the [Israeli] occupation and the Palestinian factions," Barhoum said.
Israel confirmed the agreement later on Saturday, with the army said in a separate statement that communities near Gaza could return to normal activity, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.
"At the end of an assessment by the southern command this morning it was decided to maintain a full civilian routine in the communities close to the Gaza Strip," Haaretz quoted the statement as saying.
The deal came after Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the Gaza strip on Friday.
Israeli soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas canisters towards Palestinian protesters gathered along the fence with Israel, killing 27-year-old Mohammad Sharif Badwan and wounding 120 others, according to health officials in Gaza.
Hamas also said three of its members were killed earlier in the day after Israel launched large-scale attacks in the southern part of the enclave. Sixty Hamas targets were hit by Israeli forces on Friday night.
Israeli forces said the attacks came after one of its soldiers, Staff Sergeant Aviv Levy, 20, was hit by Palestinian gunmen. They later announced the soldier had succumbed to his wounds, marking the first Israeli military fatality in the area since the 2014 Gaza war.
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