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Palestinian terrorists fired five mortar shells and two rockets at southern Israel on Tuesday, after a reported Egyptian-brokered cease-fire between terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel came into effect.
Five mortar shells were fired from Gaza into the Eshkol Regional Council, some of which landed in a kibbutz. Two Kassam rockets were fired earlier Tuesday: one into Ashkelon Coast Regional Council; one into the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries were reported and no damage was caused in the attacks.
An Egyptian security official told Reuters on Tuesday that both sides had "agreed to end the current operations," with Israel giving an unusual undertaking to "stop assassinations," and an overall agreement "to begin a comprehensive and mutual calm."
The agreement was set to take effect at 1 a.m.
"There is an understanding," Homeland Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i told Army Radio Tuesday morning. "At the moment the direction is toward calm and it appears, unless there are last minute developments, that this round is now behind us."
Also Tuesday morning, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said the group would respect the quiet as long as Israel stopped assassinations of terrorist leaders, saying it would respond if more assassinations take place.
Islamic Jihad escalated its rocket fire into Israel on Monday, striking as far north as Gedera as Egyptian diplomats worked to broker a cease-fire between the Palestinian terrorist group and Israel.
High-ranking IDF officers were skeptical earlier in the day that the mediation efforts would succeed and said that plans were in place to escalate Israel’s ongoing military operations, including the possible launching of a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip if the rocket fire continued.
“A lot depends on Hamas and Islamic Jihad but we are prepared for all scenarios,” a top officer in the Southern Command said Monday night.