Ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group in Gaza appears to hold

A fragile cease-fire between Israeli forces and a Palestinian group in besieged Gaza appeared to be holding after five days of cross-border fire that killed 33 Palestinians and two Israelis.

The latest Israeli military attack on Gaza was sparked Tuesday when Israeli jets killed three top commanders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement (PIJ) in response to earlier rocket launches from Gaza. The initial rockets launched from Gaza were in response to the death of Palestinian Khader Adnan who died on May 2 in Israeli custody after an 87-day hunger strike.

Adnan, who was affiliated with PIJ, had gone on hunger strike several times after previous arrests, including a 55-day strike in 2015 to protest his so-called administrative detention, in which suspects are held indefinitely by Israel without charge or trial.

The killings of PIJ's three members set off a barrage of heavy cross-border fire and threatened to drag the region into another all-out war until an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire took effect late on Saturday.

While the calm appeared to bring a sense of relief to Gaza's two million people and hundreds of thousands of Israelis, the agreement did nothing to address the underlying issues that have fueled numerous rounds of fighting between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups in besieged Gaza over the years.

In Gaza, residents surveyed the latest damage caused to their surroundings, with gaping holes left in the apartments serving as what Israel claimed were hideouts for the six senior Islamic Jihad members killed during Israel's attacks.

Gaza’s main cargo crossing with Israel reopened Sunday after warnings that keeping it closed would force Gaza's sole power plant to shut down, deepening a power crisis.

Israeli officials have expressed satisfaction with the latest battle, having eliminated many of Islamic Jihad's top brass in what it claims were pinpointed strikes based on solid intelligence. But at least 13 of those killed in Gaza were civilians, among them children as young as 4 years old, as well as women.

Israel has faced criticism in the past from rights groups over the civilian casualties in its bombardments in Gaza. Israel claims it does its utmost to avoid harming civilians in its strikes and says militants operate from within the territory's densely populated areas to fire rockets indiscriminately at Israeli communities.

In a statement released on Wednesday by his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that the deaths of the women and children in Gaza were “unacceptable and must stop immediately”.

Rockets, airstrikes and casualties

Throughout the fighting, Israel's repeated airstrikes into Gaza showed no signs of stopping the rocket fire, prompting the Islamic Jihad movement to declare victory.

The Israeli military reported over 1,400 launches throughout the fighting, with some rockets reaching as far as the Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem areas.

Israeli jets struck more than 400 targets, according to a preliminary military tally, which also showed about a fifth of the rockets were misfired and landed in Gaza, while most of the rest were either intercepted or landed in open areas.

An 80-year-old woman and a Palestinian laborer who was working inside Israel were killed by rocket fire. A Palestinian human rights group said three people, including two children, were killed in Gaza by errant rockets.

It was the latest attack in a long series of battles between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza since the Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in September 2005 and the Hamas movement took control of the seaside territory in 2007.

Israel and Palestinian Hamas group have fought four wars, and there have been numerous smaller flareups as well.

The more powerful Hamas has praised Islamic Jihad’s strikes but remained on the sidelines during the latest round of fighting, limiting the scope of the conflict.

Saturday’s deal did not address many of the causes of the repeated fighting, including Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza and Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza in what Israel says is a policy aimed at preventing Hamas from arming. The Palestinians and international rights groups say the policy, which restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza, amounts to collective punishment, illegal under International Humanitarian Law.