Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have agreed to a ceasefire after five days of fighting that left at least 34 people dead.
People take cover as a building is hit by an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on May 12, 2023. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The fighting started during the early hours of Tuesday, after Israeli forces launched an targeted assassination of three top commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant group.
A child and a woman react following an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on May 13, 2023. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
The operation killed the three military leaders, along with 10 civilians including eight women and children, according to the BBC.
Smoke rises from the area as a result of the Israeli attacks in Beit Lahia, in the north of Gaza on May 12, 2023. Israeli attacks over Gaza Strip continue. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Israel said that the commanders had been responsible for firing more than 100 rockets into Israel on May 2, after a Palestinian prisoner in Israel died on a hunger strike.
Palestinian citizens of Israel protest in the northern port city of Haifa, Israel, on Tuesday, 2 May, 2023, following the death of Khader Adnan, a 44-year-old Palestinian man imprisoned by Israel, who was found unconscious in his cell and pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital after an 87-day hunger strike. (Photo by Mati Milstein/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The PIJ then retaliated by firing more than 850 rockets towards Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces said.
Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza City, in Sderot on May 10, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
The attacks killed one Israeli and one Palestinian working in Israel.
Israeli forces also continued to launch air strikes towards PIJ military sites, killing more commanders.
Smoke rises above buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike on May 12, 2023. (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
By Friday May 12, 33 Palestinians and 1 Israeli have died.
A child reacting to an Israeli air strike is assisted by a man in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2023. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)
More than half of those killed were civilians, Palestinian officials said.
Children stand amidst the rubble of a building hit by an Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah in the centre of the Gaza Strip, on May 13, 2023. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
A Palestinian girl looks at the rubble of a building, following an Israeli air strike, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 11, 2023. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)
He asked both sides to abide to international humanitarian law, “exercise maximum restraint” and cease fighting immediately.
On Saturday, both sides confirmed that they had agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Egypt.
A view of damaged and demolished buildings as officials inspect the site aftermath of Israeli attacks as residents return their burnt houses following ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza City, Gaza on May 14, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Although both sides continued to fire some rockets afterwards, the ceasefire appeared to hold by Sunday May 14.
A Palestinian boy sleeps amidst the rubble of his house in Gaza City, on May 14, 2023, following a ceasefire ending five days of deadly fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto)
