Jerusalem, 8 August, 2022 (TPS) — A quiet descended on southern Israel on Monday morning after a ceasefire came into effect on Sunday night, ending Operation Breaking Dawn against the Islamic Jihad terror organization in the Gaza Strip.
The Head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate announced that the ceasefire took effect at 23:30.
Israel “thanks Egypt for its [mediation] efforts,” and “the ceasefire is violated, the State of Israel maintains the right to respond strongly. We will not allow any disruption to the lives of the citizens of the State of Israel,” the statement said.
The counterterrorism operation, which last about 55 hours, saw terrorists in Gaza launching about 1,000 rockets at Israel, including at Tel Aviv and the Jerusalem area, sending millions of Israelis to seek shelter. The majority of them, about 97% were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense batteries. About 200 of them fell short in the Strip, killing at least 15 Gazans.
Dozens of Israeli were treated by emergency medical teams for light injuries incurred while running for shelter and for shock. One Arab from Hebron was moderately injured Sunday evening from rocket shrapnel in the Ashkelon area.
A resident of Ashkelon, Shlomo Atias, 60, had a heart attack and collapsed on Monday while running for cover. He died in the hospital.
The Israeli Air Force conducted dozens of strikes, killing senior Islamic Jihad terrorists and hitting terror cells, and striking at some 165 terror targets, including rocket launchers, and weapons caches. Taysir al-Jabari, commander of the Islamic Jihad’s northern division, was eliminated on Friday, and the commander of the southern division, Khaled Mansour, was eliminated on Saturday night. Khatab ‘Amasi, Islamic Jihad’s commanding officer of the Rafah Brigade, and Ziad Madalal, Mansour’s deputy, were also killed in the strikes.
According to the IDF’s data, 35 Gazans were killed by IDF fire during the operation, 11 of whom were uninvolved. Another 15 uninvolved citizens were killed by Islamic Jihad fire.
The IAF’s final strike, which lasted 3-4 minutes, hit three military depots, launch pits, headquarters of the Islamic Jihad, and other targets.
The IDF emphasized its satisfaction with meeting the objectives of the operation – causing significant damage to the Islamic Jihad’s chain of command.
The IDF’s Home Front eased most of the restrictions imposed on the citizens in the south on Monday morning and opened the crossing between Israel and Gaza.