As of yesterday, a new ceasefire agreement has been accepted by Israel and Hamas. Is the war over and did Israel get the victory?? The re-opening of the Gaza border crossing is the Rafah crossing that Egypt has been guarding against terrorist entering into Gaza and Israel via the Sinai Peninsula.
The battered residents of southern Israel were clear: “Israel surrendered to terror” by failing to destroy Hamas and accepting a truce that left the terrorists fully armed. The next Gaza war is only a matter of time, they insisted.
Israeli government officials tried to put a positive spin on the situation, noting that Hamas, and Gaza as a whole, had suffered a major blow.
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………. members of Israel’s security cabinet, who were furious that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire without first seeking their input.
The terms of the deal Netanyahu accepted were these:
- Both sides will immediately implement an open-ended ceasefire (which they did on Tuesday afternoon);
- Gaza border crossings will be opened for the import of humanitarian aid and supplies for reconstruction;
- Gaza’s fishing zone will be extended further into the Mediterranean.
The Hamas demands that did not make the final cut were:
- The development of sea and air ports in Gaza;
- The release of Hamas terrorists arrested in Judea and Samaria over the past two months;
- The transfer of salaries to Hamas officials in Gaza.
The Israeli conditions removed from the final draft included:
- The demilitarization of Gaza;
- A mechanism to prevent Hamas from rearming;
- The return of the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers taken by Hamas during the Gaza war.
Looking for that Blessed Hope! 