 Palestinians celebrate news of the cease-fire with Israel in Gaza City on Wednesday, November 21. The cease-fire, announced Wednesday night in a joint news conference in Cairo with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, took effect at 9 p.m.  Israeli soldiers sit in a restaurant at the Yad Mordechay Junction as they watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliver a statement on live television from Jerusalem.  Rockets launch from Gaza City as an explosion is seen on the horizon at Israel's border with Gaza on Wednesday.  Israeli soldiers pray next to an artillery gun along Israel's border with Gaza on Wednesday, November 21. Violence continued in the region Wednesday, leaving hopes of a cease-fire in tatters just hours after a halt in fighting seemed close.  Emergency services personnel work at the scene of an explosion on a bus Wednesday in Tel Aviv, Israel. The blast on the public transport bus left at least 22 injured, a hospital official said.  A woman is helped at the scene by emergency workers Wednesday after the explosion on the bus in Tel Aviv.  The Ministry of Internal Security compound in Gaza City is in ruins Wednesday after an Israeli airstrike targeted it overnight.  Smoke billows after Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza on Wednesday.  An Israeli soldier sleeps in a deployment area Wednesday on Israel's border with Gaza.  A Palestinian pushes his bicycle amid debris Wednesday near the destroyed compound of the Ministry of Internal Security in Gaza City. An Israeli airstrike targeted the building overnight.  The Israeli military strikes border tunnels between Egypt and southern Gaza on Tuesday, November 20.  Israeli-fired artillery flares illuminate the sky over the southern Israeli border with Gaza Tuesday as fighting continues.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met to deliver joint statements in Jerusalem, Tuesday.  Israeli forces fire a shell from the Israel-Gaza border into Gaza on Tuesday.  Men on motorcycles drag the body of man through the streets of Gaza City on Tuesday. The men dragging the body claimed it was the body of a collaborator and an Israeli spy.  Ronit Hakmon reacts to the damage to her home in Beer Sheva, Israel, on Tuesday, after a rocket from Gaza militants hit it.  Palestinian families evacuate their homes following an Israeli airstrike Tuesday in Gaza City. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the weeklong attacks, the Gaza Ministry of Health says. Four Israelis have died.  Palestinian children stand at the gate of their home Tuesday as they watch a funeral procession for those killed following an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza.  A Palestinian carries a bag of items salvaged from a house destroyed in an Israeli airstrike Tuesday on Gaza City.  An Israeli soldier reads his morning prayers Tuesday at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza border as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave.  A Palestinian boy walks through the rubble of Hamas commander's house Tuesday in the southern Gaza town of Rafa. An overnight Israeli airstrike targeted the home.  An Israeli F-15 takes off from an Israeli air force base on Monday, November 19, on a mission over the Gaza Strip. Israel carried out 80 strikes on Monday, raising to more than 1,300 the number of sites targeted since it began its bombing campaign on Wednesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.  An Israeli pilot adjusts a strap as he sits in the cockpit of a jet at an air force base on Monday.  Palestinian firefighters extinguish a blaze following an Israeli airstrike in a Gaza City tower housing Palestinian and international media on Monday.  An Israeli girl holds her sister as they take cover in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter during a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on Monday in Nitzan, Israel.  Israeli children play in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter on Monday in Nitzan.  Birzeit University students clash with Israeli soldiers at the Atara checkpoint close to the West Bank university as they protest against Israel's military action on Monday.  Birzeit University students clash with Israeli soldiers on Monday.  Palestinian women mourn during the funeral Monday of members of one family killed when an Israeli missile struck a three-story building in Gaza City on Sunday.  Israeli artillery shells hit a target in the Gaza Strip on Monday near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip.  An Israeli soldier from a tank squadron attends a morning briefing at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Monday.  Israeli soldiers from a tank squadron prepare ammunition at an Israeli army deployment area on Monday.  A paramedic helps a Palestinian woman out of her building, which was damaged during an Israeli air raid on a nearby sporting center in Gaza City on Monday. At least 90 Palestinians, including a family of 10, have been killed, officials say.  A man covers his nose and mouth as he passes burning debris after Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Monday.  A Palestinian man carries a stuffed toy through a street littered with debris after an air raid on a sporting center in Gaza City on Monday.  Palestinian men gather around a crater caused by an Israeli airstrike at a home in Gaza City on Sunday, November 18.  Palestinian relatives grieve at the hospital in Gaza City on Sunday over family members killed in an airstrike.  Palestinians search the debris of the home following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday.  An Israeli emergency worker inspects the damage to a car in Ofakim, Israel, that was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip on Sunday.  Israeli soldiers wait at an Israeli army deployment area near the Israel-Gaza Strip border on Sunday as they prepare for a potential ground operation in the Palestinian coastal enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is ready to "significantly escalate" its operation against militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.  Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike on an office of Hamas television channel Al-Aqsa in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday. Israeli warplanes hit the Gaza City media center and homes in northern Gaza in the early morning.  Palestinian children look at damaged buildings following Israeli air strikes Sunday in Rafah.  Israeli soldiers wearing prayer shawls conduct morning prayers Sunday at an Israeli army deployment area.  An Israeli soldier from a tank squadron adjusts the tank barrel at an Israeli army deployment area on Sunday.  Cloth hangs from a window of a building damaged during Israeli air strikes on Gaza City on Sunday.  A Palestinian demonstrator throws stones in front of the headquarters of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday during a protest against Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza.  A fireball rises as the Israeli air force carries out a raid over Gaza City on Saturday, November 17.  An Israeli woman and her children take cover as sirens wail in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza by Palestinian militants were the "precipitating event" for the fighting under way now, U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday.  Palestinians walk amid the debris of a burning factory near the house of Ezzedine Haddad, commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement, after it was destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City on Saturday.  A Palestinian woman helps her friend cover her face with a traditional scarf during clashes at the Hawara checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday. People rallied against the Israeli military operations.  Palestinians stand on the rubble of the demolished home of Ezzedine Haddad, commander of the armed wing of the Hamas movement, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, that was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday. Israeli air strikes in Gaza killed 10 Palestinians, five of them militants, as nine Israelis were hurt by rocket fire, four of them soldiers, medics said.  Israeli soldiers fire tear gas toward strone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip at the Qalandia checkpoint, in the occupied West Bank, on Saturday. Israeli strikes on Gaza destroyed the Hamas government headquarters as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.  Palestinian youth clash with Israeli soldiers during protests at the Hawara checkpoin on Saturday.  Israeli soldiers stand guard by the Iron Dome defense system launch site on Saturday in Tel Aviv, Israel.  A picture taken from the southern Israeli border with Gaza shows smoke billowing following an Israeli air strike inside the Palestinian territory on Saturday. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel would be held to account for the children who were among 40 people dead in three days of airstrikes on Gaza.  A Palestinian youth takes cover behind a makeshift barrier during clashes with Israeli soldiers on November 17, 2012. Israeli strikes on Gaza destroyed the Hamas government headquarters as Israel called up thousands more reservists for a possible ground war.  An Israeli missile from the Iron Dome defense missile system is launched to intercept and destroy incoming rocket fire from Gaza on November 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israeli troops have been massing on the border as some 200 targets were hit overnight in Gaza, including Hamas cabinet buildings.  Israeli civilians run for cover during a rocket attack launched from Gaza on November 17 in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Israeli soldiers gather next to their armored bulldozers stationed on Israel's border with Gaza on Saturday, November 17.  Israeli soldiers fire tear gas toward stone throwers demonstrating against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza in the village of Beit Omar, north of the West Bank town of Hebron, on Saturday. Egypt and Turkey put the onus on Israel to end the fighting around Gaza as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Cairo a day after Washington urged the two governments to pressure the Palestinians.  An injured student from the University of Birzeit is carried away Saturday during clashes with Israeli soldiers as hundreds of students took part in a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in the Israeli occupied West Bank town of Betunia. Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 10 Palestinians and destroyed the Hamas government headquarters.  A student from the University of Birzeit throws a molotov cocktail toward Israeli soldiers during clashes.  Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli air raid in Gaza City on November 17, 2012. Israeli air strikes hit the cabinet headquarters of Gaza's Hamas government after militants fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as Israel called up thousands more reservists in readiness for a potential ground war.  Palestinian paramedics carry an injured woman on a stretcher Saturday following an Israeli air raid on a house in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.  Smoke billows across the southern Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on Saturday following Israeli air strikes inside the Palestinian territory.  A Palestinian Hamas policeman looks at an Israeli rocket in the street in Gaza City on Saturday.  An Israeli man walks to his house damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the moshav of Sde Uziyahu near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. The Israeli military said it had sealed off all main roads around Gaza and declared a closed military zone, in the latest sign it was poised to launch a first ground offensive on the Palestinian enclave since December 2008-January 2009.  Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest near the Israeli Embassy in Madrid on Friday against Israel's aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip.  Israeli children wave their national flag Saturday as they greet a bus carrying soldiers on a road leading to the Israel-Gaza border near the southern Israeli town of Ofakim.  Israeli tanks maneuver at the Israeli-Gaza Strip border.  Relatives take cover from a rocket attack during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem in Kiryat Malachi, Israel, on Friday, November 16. At least three people were killed in the Israeli town when a rocket fired from Gaza struck an apartment building there on Thursday. Fighting between Israel and Hamas militants persisted Friday with no immediate end in sight.  A rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel sails into the air Friday.  Explosions erupt from spots targeted by Israeli airstrikes inside Gaza on Friday.  Israeli soldiers stand guard while explosives experts examine the site where a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion in the village of Kisan, south of Bethlehem on Friday.  A relative grieves during the funeral for Itzik Amsalem in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, on Friday.  Palestinian protesters hold up the Hamas flag during a rally Friday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.  People take cover during a rocket attack at a funeral Friday in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel.  Palestinian youths throw stones at Israeli security forces Friday in a West Bank village near Bethlehem.  An Israeli soldier aims at Palestinian youth at a West Bank checkpoint Friday during a protest against the fighting in Gaza.  Palestinian Fares Sadallah, 11, cries outside his home after an Israeli airstrike Friday in northern Gaza.  Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a blaze Friday at the Ministry of Interior in Gaza City following an Israeli air raid.  Relatives of Itzik Amsalam, who was killed Thursday in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, mourn during Friday's funeral.  A woman cries during the funeral of Itzik Amsalam on Friday.  An Israeli soldier fires a tear gas canister toward Palestinian stone throwers on a road mainly used by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Beit Omar on Friday.  Palestinians run for cover after an Israeli airstrike hits Gaza City on Friday.  Palestinian youths inspect a destroyed mosque in northern Gaza on Friday.  Israeli soldiers conduct a patrol as some 16,000 reserve troops are drafted in on Friday.  Palestinian mourners carry the body of Audi Naser during his funeral in Gaza on Friday.  Palestinian women and children cry during the funeral of Audi Naser on Friday.  Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the Civilian Affairs branch of the Ministry of Interior on Friday.  Smokes billows from a target of an Israeli airstrike Friday in Gaza near the border with Israel.  An Israeli woman looks out from an apartment building in Ashdod, Israel, damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants on Friday.  Palestinians extinguish a fire after Israeli airstrikes targeted the Interior Ministry building in Gaza City Friday.  Israelis take cover in a pipe used as a bomb shelter, after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip on Thursday, November 15 in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. Rockets and shells crisscrossed between Israel and Gaza on Thursday as Palestinian militants continued rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and Israel pounded what it called terror sites.  An Israeli man looks out from an apartment building that was hit by a rocket launched presumably from the Gaza Strip, claiming three lives on Thursday in Kiryat Malachi, Israel.  Palestinians extinguish a fire after Israeli air strikes targeted an electricity generator that fed the house of Hamas's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City, on Thursday.  A crater is left at a spot targeted by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City early Thursday.  Israeli soldiers rest by their armored personnel carriers stationed on the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday.  Rescue workers evacuate a body Thursday in the Israeli town of Kiryat Malakhi after a rocket launched from Gaza hit an apartment building.   Palestinian relatives mourn over the body of Hanen Tafish, a 10-month-old girl, at the morgue of the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Thursday after she died following an Israeli air strike in the Zeitun neighbourhood.  Palestinians watch a funeral Thursday in southern Gaza.  A Palestinian pleads for help as he and others try to save a man trapped under his car after an Israeli air raid Thursday in northern Gaza.  Israeli police inspect an apartment building hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Kiryat Malakhi on Thursday. At least three Israelis were killed and four were wounded, an Israeli police spokesman said.  The Israeli military launches a missile Thursday from the southern city of Beersheba.  A picture taken from the southern Israeli town of Sderot shows smoke billowing from a spot targeted by an Israeli airstrike inside Gaza on Thursday.  A Palestinian man inspects his damaged house following an Israeli airstrike early Thursday in Gaza City.  An Israeli reacts after a rocket launched from Gaza hits a building Thursday in Kiryat Malakhi.  Palestinian firefighters extinguish the blaze from the car of Ahmed al-Jaabari, head of Hamas' military wing, after an Israeli airstrike hit it in Gaza City on Wednesday, November 14. The Israeli strike killed al-Jaabari.  A woman sits inside a bomb shelter Wednesday in Netivot, Israel.  Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike Wednesday in Khan Younis, Gaza.  Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire from the car in which al-Jaabari was apparently riding.  A Palestinian man cries as security forces wheel al-Jaabari's body into a hospital.  Palestinian youths look inside a building where al-Jaabari's body was brought after the attack.  A wounded Palestinian girl cries at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.  Palestinian youths evacuate an elderly man following an Israeli airstrike.  Palestinian civilians leave their houses following an Israeli airstrike.                                                                                                                     
Near the Israel-Gaza border (CNN) -- After the first quiet night in over a week, morning broke over Gaza and Israel on Thursday to relative calm, as hushed weapons indicated that the cease-fire brokered hours earlier is holding up. If Hamas and Israel can make peace last until 9 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) Thursday, border crossings into Gaza will be opened, allowing people and goods to move in and out of the strip, as arranged for in the next phase of the cease-fire. The truce took effect at the same time Wednesday after eight days of intense fighting. Palestinians pulled more victims from piles of rubble left from 1,500 confirmed Israeli strikes, raising the death toll to 160 - including 40 children, according to Gaza's health ministry spokesman. The number of those injured climbed to 1,222, said Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra. One strike killed five people from one family in the hours leading up to the cessation of hostilities, he said. During the conflict, rocket fire killed five Israeli's, including a soldier, and wounded more than 200 people, according to the United Nations. The cease-fire deal calls for talks on easing economic restrictions on Gaza to begin Thursday, said Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government. "If the border is quiet, that enables us to be more forthcoming," he said. Since hostilities ceased, three rockets flew into Israel from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday. Earlier mentions by officials of five to 12 projectiles were incorrect, according to the Israeli military. Two of the three landed in open areas, and Israel's Iron Dome automated defense system intercepted one over Ashtod.   Map: Israel Map: Israel Analyst: Killing Hamas chief was mistake  Celebratory gunfire in Gaza  Egypt announces Israel-Hamas cease-fire Egypt's Morsy praised for his key role in talks As he was preparing to return to New York from Tel Aviv, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said late Wednesday that his biggest concern was the safety of civilians on both sides. About 10,000 Palestinians have lost their homes -- there is a critical need for humanitarian aid in the territory, he said. Israeli forces' spokeswoman Avital Leibovich dismissed such concerns. "There is no crisis in Gaza," she said, adding that she had seen pictures Wednesday morning of markets filled with fresh produce. "I understand that some things are not convenient," she said. On the ground: Follow updates from CNN's reporters The cease-fire was announced in a joint news conference in Cairo with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr. Gazans took to the streets after the announcement, firing guns into the air in celebration of what they considered a victory over Israel's military. The agreement calls for Israel to halt all acts of aggression on Gaza, including incursions and the targeting of people, according to Egypt's state news agency. It also calls for the Palestinian factions to cease all hostilities from Gaza against Israel, including the firing of rockets and attacks on the border. Border crossings were to be opened Thursday night, and the movement of people and goods across them was to be eased, it said.  Mideast cease-fire begins  Gaza-Israel civilians talk cease-fire  Clinton: Critical time for the region  Gaza doctor loses a son Opinion: Will real change come from this cease-fire? The agreement came after a day of negotiations that included Clinton, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy and Palestinian officials. Regev said the agreement calls for "complete and total cessation of all hostile activity initiated in the Gaza Strip." "For us, that's victory. That's what we wanted," he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of possible additional military action if the cease-fire fails to lead to long-term security. "But at this time, the right thing for the state of Israel is to exhaust this opportunity to obtain a long-term cease fire," he said. Netanyahu thanked U.S. President Barack Obama for his "unreserved support" of Israel's actions. The fighting was ignited by the November 14 assassination by Israeli forces of Ahmed al-Ja'abari, the head of Hamas' military wing. iReport: Share your stories from the region Israel launched its offensive with a stated goal of ending the rocket attacks on southern Israel from inside Gaza by degrading the ability of Palestinians to launch such attacks. "Their attempts backfired against them," said Khaled Meshaal, a Hamas political leader. "They wanted to destroy the infrastructure of the resistance of Hamas. They claim they have done so, and they have not. They are bankrupt." He cited Israel's destruction of buildings and killings that included civilians. "This is their accomplishment," he said. "They have nothing else to show. And our rockets continued to strike them until the last minute." Israel will hold Hamas responsible for any attacks from Gaza, whether conducted by that organization or any others, Regev said. He said the agreement reflects that understanding.  Emergency services at the scene of the explosion on a bus with passengers onboard.  Emergency services rush to the scene of an explosion on November 21 in central Tel Aviv.  An injured woman is helped from the scene after the explosion.  Emergency services attend the scene after a bus explosion in central Tel Aviv.  Emergency services gather at the scene of an explosion on a bus with passengers onboard.  A general view of the scene after an explosion on a bus in central Tel Aviv. Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv Bus bombing shakes Tel Aviv  Interactive timeline of the conflict
Smuggling weapons to Gaza -- the long way Hamas' military wing, the al Qassam brigade, said it fired 1,573 rockets toward Israel during the hostilities, including three shot toward Jerusalem. In a news release Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said that during Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel's military targeted more than 1,500 "terror sites." Hundreds of other buildings were hit in Gaza, Ban said, slamming the "disproportionate" use of force. How Middle East has changed since last Gaza conflict Clinton, who shuttled among Israel, the West Bank and Egypt to help negotiate the deal, said the United States will continue to work with regional partners to implement and expand the agreement. Arab-Americans watch conflict with mix of worry, relief Diplomats said they were hoping to avoid a repeat of 2008 and 2009, when at least 1,400 people died as Israeli troops invaded Gaza after similar rocket attacks. Analysis: Conflict shifts balance of power in the Middle East CNN's Tom Watkins, Ben Brumfield, Amir Ahmed, Arwa Damon, Ben Wedeman, Christiane Amanpour, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Saad Abedine, Sara Sidner, Frederik Pleitgen, Kareem Khadder, Saad Abedine, Ingrid Formanek, Nicki Goulding, Neda Farshbaf, Marilia Brocchetto and Reza Sayah contributed to this report.   |
11/22/2012
Cease-fire for Israel and Gaza appears to hold
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