A “mutual and simultaneous” ceasefire came into force at 3.30am on Wednesday, and was negotiated by officials from the UN, Qatar and Egypt. That according to sources for the Reuters news agency.
According to a Palestinian source to Al Jazeera it was initiated to try to prevent Israel’s continued rocket attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josef Borrell, also called on Israel on Tuesday to stop its “unilateral measures” that could increase tensions further, the EU’s foreign service said after Borrell met Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Brussels.
The Israeli military has stated that it fired at least 30 rockets at several locations. Israel’s rocket fire on Palestinian targets on Tuesday followed shelling by Palestinians since Khader Adnan, a prominent Palestinian hunger striker, died in prison.
Adnan was arrested 12 times and spent about eight years in Israeli prisons, without concrete charges or trial, Reuters said.