On Sunday, a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip was mostly upheld, except for a brief exchange of fire in the evening. Routine returned hours after the two sides agreed to end a five-day escalation that resulted in the deaths of at least 33 people in Gaza and two in Israel.
However, the question across the region was when, rather than if, the cease-fire would break. This escalation was at least the 11th involving Gaza since 2006 and came just nine months after the previous days-long battle between Israel and militias in the coastal enclave.
The Israeli military reported that a single Palestinian rocket was fired into an open area near Gaza on Sunday evening, causing no damage but reminding residents of the fragility of the truce.
The regional dynamics also remain unstable: Israel’s 16-year blockade of Gaza, conducted jointly with Egypt, remains in place, as does its 56-year occupation of the West Bank, both of which fuel Palestinian anger and violence. Hard-line Palestinian militias that officially call for Israel’s destruction still dominate Gaza and maintain a strong presence in the West Bank — bolstering the Israeli rationale for exerting control over both territories.
What was the state of the cease-fire on Sunday?
Israel allowed goods, food, and people to re-enter Gaza on Sunday morning and permitted thousands of Gazan residents to return to Israel for work on construction sites and farms, after the authorities blocked entry and exit during the escalation last week.
Yet a wider blockade remained in place: Since Hamas captured Gaza in 2007, Israel has barred certain imports to the enclave, particularly electronic and computing equipment, fearing that militants might repurpose them as weapons. Israel has also limited most outward travel from Gaza.
In southern Israel, life began to return to normal on Sunday, with schools and roads reopened and bomb shelters having emptied out once the threat of widespread Palestinian rocket fire subsided. But the rocket fire on Sunday evening sent some residents running for cover once again.
In response, Israel said it briefly shelled two militant outposts. No injuries were reported, and Palestinian militant leaders said the rocket was fired in error.
Palestinians once again began a familiar rebuilding operation in Gaza: Officials there said that Israeli airstrikes last week had destroyed or irreparably damaged 100 houses and apartments and caused less severe damage to more than 900 others.
Why might the truce hold?
For now, Palestinian Islamic Jihad — the Iran-backed militia that led the fight with Israel — seems thwarted. Israeli airstrikes killed several of the group’s top commanders, as well as several civilians, and the Israeli military said it had destroyed some of its rocket launchers and rocket arsenal.
Hamas, the larger and better-armed militia that governs the Gaza Strip, did not publicly involve itself in the fighting. Although Hamas has helped stir recent violence in the West Bank and…
2023-05-14 12:04:25
Original from www.nytimes.com