Egyptian security source: Cairo acting to prevent collapse of Gaza truce
According to the source, both sides are still obligated to uphold the cease-fire; he calls on Palestinians "not to succumb to provocations."
By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUAUpdated: SEPTEMBER 20, 2015 01:47Smoke rises in Egypt's North Sinai as seen from the border of southern Gaza Strip with Egypt July 1, 2015. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Despite rocket fire on southern Israel over the weekend and IDF reprisals in Gaza, an Egyptian security source said on Saturday that neither the Israelis nor Palestinians have intimated that the truce between them has ended.The source told the Hamas-affilitaed al-Resalah news portal that “as of now, the Gaza cease-fire agreement, which was signed on August 26, 2014, is valid and binding for all parties.”The source added that Egypt “is closely following developments in the area, including the firing of three rockets from Gaza toward southern Israeli communities on the border, as well as the response from the IDF, which bombed Palestinian sites.”The anonymous source revealed that officials in Cairo called both Israeli officials and Palestinian factions overnight Friday to ensure the continuation of the Gaza cease-fire.The security source called on all sides “to fulfill their obligation to uphold the cease-fire,” and called on the Palestinian factions “not to succumb to Israeli provocations, which seek to drag Gaza into war and incite an escalation in the whole area.”The Israeli Air Force struck three terrorist infrastructure sites, including a Hamas run telecommunications facility in the North of Gaza, early Saturday morning in response to multiple rocket attacks from the coastal enclave the previous day.The IDF Spokesperson's Office released a statement saying that the IDF viewed the rocket attacks on Israel with the utmost severity and that it would not tolerate attempts to harm Israeli citizens.The IDF said that Hamas was responsible for the attack. Just before midnight Friday evening, an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery shot down a Gazan rocket over the southern city of Ashkelon.There were no injuries or damages, the IDF said.A Salafist organization affiliated with Islamic State calling itself "The Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade" took responsibility for the rocket attack on Ashkelon after posting a statement on Twitter.
Earlier Friday, a Palestinian rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip exploding in Sderot, causing damage to a home and a nearby bus.Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.