Hamas agreed on Wednesday night to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, but not before firing another salvo of rockets towards Israel.
“The group agrees to a ceasefire for five hours,” starting from 10:00 a.m. local time Thursday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency.
“The Palestinian factions agreed to accept the offer from the United Nations for a cooling-down on the ground for five hours starting from 10 in the morning,” he told the news agency.
Shortly before 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, however, sirens were heard in the Eshkol region, Hof Ashkelon region, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat and Kiryat Malachi.
Sirens were also heard in the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, near Jerusalem. Three rockets exploded in open regions in the region, causing no physical injuries or damages.
Several rockets from Gaza exploded in open areas in the Hof Ashkelon and Eshkol regions, causing no physical injuries or damages.
The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted one rocket over Kiryat Gat and one rocket over Kiryat Malachi. A third rocket exploded in an open region in Kiryat Malachi.
Israel earlier on Wednesday accepted a request by UN envoy Robert Serry to enact a “humanitarian ceasefire” for several hours starting Thursday morning.
The IDF Spokesman said the ceasefire will be a “window of opportunity” for Palestinian Arabs in Gaza to get supplies and evacuate.
Meanwhile, Egyptian efforts to mediate a ceasefire continue, and an Israeli delegation will be in Cairo on Thursday for talks on the issue.