After eleven days, Israel and the terrorist group Hamas stopped the bombing after agreeing to a ceasefire.

Israel and Gaza are now living a first morning of calm after eleven days of the “Guardian of the Walls” military escalation, the worst since 2014, and peace remains after a truce that ended the exchange of gunfire took effect this morning.

The ceasefire went into effect this Friday at 2:00 a.m. local time (23:00 GMT). Since then, no anti-aircraft alarms have sounded, nor have there been rockets fired by Hamas terrorist groups into Israel. no defensive attack by the Israeli army against Gaza.

After several hours of calm, the armed forces lifted most of the security and movement restrictions that applied mainly in the Gaza border area, Although schools and other educational establishments will remain closed even today in the south and center of the country, the digital reported Times of Israel.

At the same time, Police reopened Israeli roads near the Gaza Strip which had been closed as a precaution against possible anti-tank missile fire from the enclave, specified the same medium.

Israel lifted most security and movement restrictions in Gaza border area

The truce ends eleven days of escalating war that has left 232 Palestinians dead in Gaza and 12 others in Israel.

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets this Friday morning to celebrate the entry into force of a ceasefire with Israel.

Young men waved Palestinian and Hamas flags, handed out candy, honked their horns from their cars and set off fireworks. The spontaneous celebrations were repeated in East Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank.

Israel proclaimed the success by considering that the military campaign, “Guardian of the Walls”, achieved unprecedented “great achievements” against the military targets of the militias of the Islamist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The proposed truce, negotiated by Egypt, was accepted Thursday by the parties as a “mutual and simultaneous” agreement.

The Israeli security cabinet on Thursday approved the acceptance of the “bilateral and unconditional” cessation of hostility and Hamas announced shortly after that “it has guarantees to execute it.”

Clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian militias in Gaza have been the most serious in the past seven years. The tension was sparked in occupied East Jerusalem and also spread to the West Bank and mixed cities of Israel.

Visit to the United States

Meanwhile, the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, to visit Middle East “in the next few days”The State Department said Thursday after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire after 11 days of fighting.

Blinken spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, who “welcomed” the visit, State Department spokesman Ned Price said..

He added that Blinken will also meet with Palestinian and regional figures “to discuss recovery efforts and work together to build a better future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

The announcement came after Blinken met twice with Ashkenazi on Thursday before the implementation of the ceasefire, which was brokered by Egypt and came after increasing international pressure to curb the bloodshed.

“The two leaders expressed appreciation for Egypt’s mediation efforts, and the secretary said he would keep in close contact with his Egyptian counterpart and other stakeholders in the region.”Price said.

In this appeal, the US foreign minister informed his Israeli counterpart of the planned trip to the Middle East, where he also intends to meet with other foreign officials in the region.

Blinken was returning home Thursday after a visit to the Arctic overshadowed by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Working from hotel rooms and on the plane for a ceasefire, he spoke to leaders on both sides, as well as Arab countries with influence over Hamas.

The secretary of state “welcomed the confirmation from the (Israeli) foreign minister that the parties had agreed to a ceasefire,” Price said.

(With information from EFE)

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