Palestinian militant group Hamas has confirmed that there will be a mutual and simultaneous truce with Israel beginning in the early hours of Friday morning.
Hamas official confirms a ‘mutual and simultaneous’ truce with Israel will begin on Friday at 2 a.m. pic.twitter.com/sjOZDuEtBx
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 20, 2021
This was revealed moments after the Israeli cabinet decided it would implement a unilateral ceasefire starting at 2am local time in the region after more than a week of intense fighting.
The decision comes after increased diplomatic pressure including a session of the United Nations General Assembly in which a large majority of countries called for an immediate de-escalation.
Israel and Hamas – the group that controls Gaza – were locked in an exchange of rocket fire and air strikes for 11 days as casualties mounted – mostly among Palestinians in Gaza with over 230 dead including over 60 children.
Palestinians also reported that thousands of buildings were either destroyed or damaged in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek a de-escalation amid mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the UN and in the absence of consensus in the Security Council where France introduced an draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire over US objections to the multilateral effort.
