The Gaza-based Islamic Jihad terror group says that it has reached a cease-fire with Israel following a weekend flare-up between the two sides. Israel has not responded to the announcement. Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad official, said that "the Egyptians have made tremendous efforts and mediated between the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and Israel, and the efforts led to understandings regarding the return of the truce to the Gaza Strip." "We appreciate the Egyptian efforts and hope that all forms of Israeli aggression will stop." Meanwhile, the Home Front Command has not changed its defense directives for residents of the Gaza area. The residents are required not to hold gatherings of more than 100 people in an open area, and 500 people in a closed area. In addition, all agricultural work in the surrounding areas will have to be approved in advance. In addition, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced today that Israeli warplanes had attacked eight Islamic Jihad terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. Among the targets attacked were weapons manufacturing sites in the northern Gaza Strip and a tunnel-making plant. "The IDF views with great severity the rocket attack that was carried out at night on Israeli settlements," the statement said. "The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization led the attack by encouraging Iranian terror operatives and against the backdrop of a terrorist atmosphere led by the Hamas terrorist organization in the area of the security fence." "The Hamas terrorist organization bears responsibility for everything happening in and out of the Gaza Strip, and it will bear the consequences for the terrorist acts carried out against Israeli citizens." 30 rockets had hit Israel on Friday night in the latest escalation between the Gaza-based terror groups and Jewish State. 6 Israelis in Sderot were lightly wounded and were evacuated to Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital. Israeli warplanes attacked over 80 targets in Gaza after the rocket onslaught. Following the escalation, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot met with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to consult over how to proceed.
