Israel today denied having reached a ceasefire deal with Hamas, a day after it retaliated against the heaviest barrage of rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip, run by the Islamist movement.
In the the worst flare-up since a 2014 war, Israel claimed over 110 rockets and mortars were fired into its territory throughout the day yesterday, a number of which were intercepted by its air defence systems, forcing thousands of people take cover in shelter houses. In retaliation, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) targeted more than 60 military targets in the Gaza Strip.
According to the military, three Israeli soldiers were injured in the attack. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza.
Senior Israeli ministers denied that a ceasefire had been reached with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but security sources maintained that calm will prevail if attacks from Gaza come to a halt.
"There is no ceasefire," Israel's Intelligence Minister Israel Katz told Israel Radio adding, "Israel maintains a clear policy not to allow fire and terror attacks against Israel."
Palestinian militant factions in the Gaza Strip this morning said that they were committed to a truce with Israel that was reached following extensive mediation efforts by Egypt.
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"Israel does not want the situation to deteriorate, but those who started the violence must stop it," Katz, a member of the Israeli security cabinet, told the Radio.
"Israel will make (Hamas) pay for all fire against Israel," he said, responding to the remarks by deputy Hamas leader, Khalil al-Hayya, who had earlier announced that a "consensus" had been reached in the Strip to "return to the understandings of the ceasefire" during the night.
"This is an escalation, and we will not allow the continued firing at us...everything depends on Hamas now: If they continue, I do not know what their fate will be, he warned.
In a statement, reported by Arab media, Hayya claimed that "the resistance succeeded in repelling the aggression and prevented the changing of rules," adding that there had been many mediation interventions in the previous hours.
He said that Hamas and other "resistance factions" were committed to the ceasefire as long as Israel, too, was committed to it.
Islamic Jihad, which fired many of the mortars at Israel, also said that it was committed to a ceasefire along the same terms reached following the 2014 Gaza War, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge.
The Intelligence Minister claimed "an Iranian fingerprint on Hamas and Hezbollah."
Israel's Education Minister Naftali Bennett also denied reports of a ceasefire.
"We have reached no such understanding, not even an informal one," Bennett, also a member of the Security Cabinet, told the Army Radio.
Israeli Energy Minister, Yuval Steinitz, however said that there was an "understanding" in place between Israel and Hamas.
"I believe there is an indirect understanding with Hamas to end the current round of violence," he said.
A reported ceasefire was set to start at midnight last night but that deadline passed with no signs of a truce as dozens of rockets and mortar shells continued to rain down on Israel.
More than 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli snipers amid protests which saw thousands of Palestinians mass on the border in support of the declared right of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes in what is now Israel.
Israel said its snipers had opened fire on attackers or people attempting to infiltrate under cover of protests, but UN and human right officials have accused Israel of using disproportionate force.
"Hamas and Islamic Jihad have already paid a heavy price and the bill has just been presented to them", Israel's ultra-nationalist Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
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