JERUSALEM
The Israeli army on Wednesday said that a ceasefire reached Tuesday with the Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip is still "holding" with no breaches reported.
Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted that "12 hours and the ceasefire is holding."
The Israeli army, he added, "remains prepared for any development and will continue to be the protective edge for Israel."
An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday, bringing to a halt 51 days of relentless Israeli attacks on the blockaded coastal enclave.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said the deal called for the opening of all border crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel, which would effectively signal the end of Israel's years-long embargo of the coastal enclave.
The ceasefire formally came into effect at 16:00 GMT Tuesday.
For the past eight weeks, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with the declared aim of halting rocket fire from the Palestinian territory.
Since hostilities first erupted on June 7, at least 2145 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and nearly 11,000 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Thousands of homes have also been partially or completely destroyed by devastating Israeli bombardments.
Over the same period, at least 69 Israelis – 64 soldiers and five civilians – have been killed, according to Israeli figures.
The number of Palestinian fatalities from Israel's current offensive has surpassed the combined death toll from two previous operations against Gaza, including Israel's bloody "Operation Cast Lead" in 2008/09 in which at least 1500 Palestinians were killed over the course of three weeks.
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en/WORLD
