A CEASEFIRE between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip has continued to hold this week, giving the relatives of the dozens of people who died in the previous three days of air strikes pause to mourn.

At least 44 people, including 15 children, were killed during 56 hours of violence that began last Friday after a surprise Israeli air strike hit a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. Israel claimed that this was pre-emptive.

Hundreds of people were wounded in subsequent raids over the weekend, and at least 40 families were displaced. Israel’s US-backed air defence system prevented any significant damage in its territories, Reuters reports, but Gaza was unprotected. Just 24 hours earlier, four children had been killed by what Israel reported to be an Islamic Jahid rocket that had veered off course.

Both Islamic Jihad and Hamas deny that any of their rockets misfired, saying that all Palestinian deaths were caused by Israeli strikes.

On Sunday night, Egypt brokered a truce between Israel and Gaza-based militants, which appeared to be holding on Wednesday. Restrictions on Gaza were lifted, including the reopening of major crossings into the Strip, allowing humanitarian aid to enter the region.

The ceasefire was welcomed by President Biden, who visited Israel and the West Bank last month (News, 22 July). He said in a statement on Sunday: “The reports of civilian casualties in Gaza are a tragedy, whether by Israeli strikes against Islamic Jihad positions or the dozens of Islamic Jihad rockets that reportedly fell inside Gaza. My Administration supports a timely and thorough investigation into all of these reports, and we also call on all parties to fully implement the ceasefire, and to ensure fuel and humanitarian supplies are flowing into Gaza as the fighting subsides. . .

“Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy.”