A cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been reached, according to Egypt’s foreign minister announced Wednesday at a news conference.
The cease-fire took effect at 9:00PM local time (2:00PM ET). Israeli officials claimed there were rockets from Gaza fired after that time, but most media are reporting the ceasefire has generally held so far.
On Tuesday, Hamas, through Egypt, proposed a ceasefire deal which included their terms: stop assassinations; stop rocket fire from Gaza; ease border crossings (not open totally); the guarantor of ceasefire is the Egyptian government.
Israel claimed the demands asked too much of Israel, and the truce deal languished. Today, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Israel with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ceasefire was reportedly agreed to, although the exact and final terms have not been publicized.
According to Al Jazeera, Israel agreed to the ceasefire, but refused to lift or even ease the economic blockade on Gaza, which is causing severe poverty and suffering.
