ISRAELI FORCES AND PALESTINIAN ARMED GROUPS AGREE TO A CEASEFIRE

Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza have agreed to a ceasefire, two Palestinian officials said, after a night of Israeli air strikes that pounded the besieged coastal enclave, while rockets were launched towards Israel following the death in prison of prominent Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan. The reciprocal and simultaneous ceasefire was brought about with efforts from Egyptian, Qatari and United Nations officials. Hamas was engaged in talks with Egyptian, Qatari and UN officials to end Israeli aggression on Gaza, the group said in a statement earlier on Wednesday.

Hamas said its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, held talks to end Israel’s attacks, which saw Israeli fighter jets and tanks attack targets in Gaza late on Tuesday, and Palestinian fighters fire rockets into Israel, following the death of Adnan after he spent 87 days on hunger strike in an Israeli jail. A joint statement by factions in Gaza on Tuesday, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said the rocket fire was an initial response to Adnan’s death.