A ceasefire between Israel and the militants of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, brought calm after tensions between the two on Monday, ending a three-day conflict that has killed 44 Palestinians and showcased the precision of Israel’s US-backed missile defense system, known as Iron Dome, which kept the Israeli casualty count at zero.
“The United States is proud of our support for the iron dome of Israel, which intercepted hundreds of rockets and saved countless lives,” the president said. Joe Biden in a statement last Sunday. The US president also welcomed the ceasefire brokered by Egypt and Qatar, and praised the Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapidfor his “consistent leadership of the government during the crisis.”
Conflict
Although both sides claimed victory, the ceasefire it does not promise a long-term solution to the confrontation between the Gaza Strip and Israel, one that has revived with force in the last decade and a half. Because the reasons for the cessation of hostilities are humanitarian.
The more than 2 million people who live in Loop suffered power outages that threatened to close hospitals as medical personnel continued to treat more than 350 people wounded in the fighting. This after street protests filled the streets of Gaza last Friday afternoon, when surprise airstrikes shattered what had been a day of prayers.
The Israeli bombings coincide with the assassination by the Americans of Aymán al Zawahiri, mastermind of the September 11 attacks. and they are one parallel lunge against Islamic Jihad. But among the victims are a dozen children, such as Alaa Qaddoum, 5 years old. And although the Israeli army disputes the Gaza account, saying that most of the civilians killed over the weekend were hit by Jihad rockets that missed, the casualties are unquestionable.
Mediation
Egypt brokered the deal that ended three days of violence between Israel and Jihadand what left 44 dead in the Gaza Strip, including two high-ranking militants and 15 children, and sent thousands of Jews to shelters to avoid the nearly 1,000 rockets fired at Israel.
“We announce the start of a ceasefire starting at 11:30 p.m. And we welcome Egypt’s efforts,” Islamic Jihad said in a statement sent to reporters. However, the group maintained that maintained the “right to respond to any Israeli aggression.
In Israel, the head of the National Directorate for Public Diplomacy issued a statement confirming the truce. “The State of Israel thanks Egypt for their efforts,” confirmed Israel, which also stated that it reserved the right to “vigorously respond” to any violation.
“We are very close to our objectives, and that is a good reason for us to stop the operation,” said Meir Elran, former deputy commander of the israeli military intelligence, in a call with the Jerusalem Press on Sunday, before the truce became official. “It’s my interpretation that it’s time for us to go home,” she concluded.
Balance
The Israeli military boasted that it had achieved its tactical objectives, which included the murder of two of the main military commanders of the Islamic Jihadas well as air strikes in more than 140 tunnelsweapons and rocket storage facilities.
And the operation also killed at least 10 other Islamic Jihad members, as well as three members of other militant organizations based in Gaza. “But the biggest success was a strategic victory: we did what we wanted and we finished when we wanted,” celebrated Miri Eisin, a former Israeli army intelligence officer.
The situation first erupted on Tuesday, August 2, when Israeli forcess High-level Islamic Jihad leader arrested Palestine in the West Bank. On the same day, the Israeli army restricted movement in southern Israel, keeping communities in a lockdown as a security measure.
A military operation that props up the prime minister Yair Lapidwho has been head of government for just over two months, and is facing mounting pressure to take action against Islamic Jihad ahead of the November 1 elections (fifth Israeli vote in two years).
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Last weekend’s conflict also lays bare Israel’s negotiations with Hamas: The Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip was notably absent from hostilities, after its 11-day crossing with Israel in May ended with a balance of 200 dead.
And although Hamas and Islamic Jihad appear as allies, the former would be seeking to detach itself from the extreme violence of the latter, just like the Palestinian Authoritywhich governs parts of the West Bank.
Both movements would turn away from Iran, while Ziad Nakhaleh, leader of the Jihadwas following the conflict with Israel from Tehran: on Saturday he met with Ismail Qaani, head of the Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard of Iran (the same one that is linked to the pilot of the Venezuelan plane held in Ezeiza), who warned that Israel will pay “a high price” for its attacks on Gaza.
“Islamic Jihad is stronger today”, Nakhaleh marked for his part at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday night, just before the start of the ceasefire.
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