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Hamas Claims Ceasefire Reached After IDF Blasts Haniyeh’s Office; Barrage Strikes Israel

by TheTower.org Staff |

Hamas announced that it had an accepted an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel after a day of escalation, following a rocket attack by the Gaza-based terror group that destroyed a house in central Israel, The Times of Israel reported Monday.

Israeli officials did not confirm that a ceasefire had been agreed to.

Over the course of the day, the IDF struck multiple Hamas targets in Gaza, including the office of the terror group’s top official, Ismail Haniyeh.

Other buildings reportedly targeted by Israel were the home of Hammam Deeb, who is the director of the General Intelligence in Gaza, and a building described by the IDF as a “secret headquarters” for Hamas’s security and intelligence agencies, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Hamas launched dozens of rockets and shells setting off alarms across southern Israel. Iron Dome systems are believed to have intercepted a number of the threats but the IDF did not confirm those reports. In Sderot, located near Gaza in southern Israel, one home was damaged. It is unclear if it was struck by a rocket or shrapnel from an Iron Dome interception.

Shortly after the attacks, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire had been reached to go into effect at 10 PM.

In response to the anticipated threat, municipal rocket shelters across central and southern Israel were opened. Among the cities that opened shelters were Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Gat, and Rishon Lezion.

Residents of communities bordering Gaza were told to stay near shelters.

Iron Dome systems were deployed across the country.

Two brigades were sent to Israel’s border with Gaza and 1,000 reservists were called up.

[Photo: The Mossad / Twitter ]

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