Arab media reported early Wednesday morning that an agreement had been reached on a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Arab factions.
According to the reports, the ceasefire agreement came into effect at 4:00 a.m. local time.
A Palestinian Arab source told Al-Jazeera that the ceasefire should come into effect at the same time and is "conditional on the commitment of both sides." An Egyptian TV channel reported that "the agreement has entered into force - and is conditional on Israel's commitment."
The IDF early Wednesday morning announced a resumption of regular routine in the home front. The decision was made following a situational assessment and in accordance with the directives of the Home Front Command.
In addition, following a situational assessment, it was decided that classes in towns located near the border with the Gaza Strip will be held as usual on Wednesday.
Earlier, IDF fighter jets struck a military post, a weapon storage, weapon manufacturing site, and a training facility belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization.
At the same time, two weapon manufacturing sites belonging to the Hamas weapon production headquarters, a cement manufacturing site used by Hamas for maintaining its infrastructure, a military post used by the Hamas naval wing and an underground terror tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip were struck.
“The strike was carried out in response to the rocket launches from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory earlier today, this strike significantly harms the capabilities and prevents further weapon acquisition capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
“The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for all terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip and it will face the consequences of the security,” it added.
Shortly after 2:00 a.m., the IDF launched a second round of strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said IDF Fighter jets and helicopters struck a military compound that served as a training camp for the operatives of the production line of the Hamas terrorist organization, a weapons warehouse and two military compounds of the organization.
At the same time, a Hamas military camp and a military outpost of the organizations naval wing were struck. An underground terror tunnel was also struck.
Illustration of thwarted Hamas tunnel. Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
In the meantime, the rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip continued, and sirens were sounded several times in the area. Around 2:30 a.m., sirens were heard in the Ashkelon area.
One of the rockets fired towards the area hit the yard of a home in a kibbutz in the Hof Ashkelon region. There were no injuries, but the home and a vehicle sustained damage.
The IDF confirmed earlier on Tuesday evening that terrorists in the Gaza Strip launched six mortars at Israel, hours after a barrage of 22 rockets left three people wounded in Sderot.
"A short while ago, six mortars were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. Some of mortars fell in the area of the security fence while the rest fell in the Gaza Strip. An alert was activated in the Home Front Command App in open areas only," the IDF stated.
In during the rocket barrage Tuesday afternoon, two rockets struck the city of Sderot, four rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, and 16 rockets landed in open areas.
Three foreign workers were wounded when a rocket struck a construction site in Sderot, one of whom was seriously injured.
The repeated attacks from Gaza come as terrorist groups in the coastal enclave vowed to make Israel pay following the death of hunger-striking Islamic Jihad terrorist Khader Adnan in prison early Tuesday morning.
The defense establishment presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with several alternatives for a response to the rocket barrage into the Gaza Strip. A defense official said that Israel has no desire to be dragged into a large-scale campaign, but that "a larger-than-normal response is expected, and it is possible that the incident will last more than a day."
In response to the rocket fire, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi said, "22 rockets were fired into Sderot and surrounding towns with the aim of murdering Israeli civilians. We cannot continue with the restraint. I once again call on the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the Cabinet to eliminate the leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. We are operating in places that are much further away, but are not doing enough in an area that is a kilometer from to prevent the firing at Sderot and the surrounding area and the attempt to murder Israelis."
Former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Naftali Bennett blasted the Netanyahu government following the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip and said that "in one day under the Netanyahu government, the enemy in Gaza fired more rockets at us than in an entire year under my government. This is not accidental. I led an aggressive security policy, while Netanyahu leads confusion and weakness.''
The former Prime Minister charged that "the Netanyahu government 'contained' rockets from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, so why are we surprised that the enemy continues to fire? The government must come to its senses today, do its job and restore the lost security to the citizens of Israel.''
