GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire early Saturday, a spokesman for the Palestinian party said, after five people including an Israeli soldier were killed Friday.
“With Egyptian and UN efforts, we reached (an agreement) to return to the previous state of calm between the (Israeli) occupation and the Palestinian factions,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.
It was the second such cease-fire agreement between the parties in a week and came amid growing fears of a new war.
On Friday an Israeli soldier was shot dead by Palestinian fire along the border, the first killing of a soldier in and around Gaza since a 2014 war between Hamas and the Jewish state.
Three Hamas fighters were killed as Israel retaliated with airstrikes on dozens of targets.
A fourth Palestinian man was killed after being shot during a protest on the Gaza-Israel border.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.
Hamas, Israel agree on Gaza cease-fire: Hamas spokesman
Hamas, Israel agree on Gaza cease-fire: Hamas spokesman
- It was the second such cease-fire agreement between the parties in a week and came amid growing fears of a new war
- Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008
Vessel struck off Oman’s Muscat, UKMTO says
DUBAI: A vessel was struck on Sunday by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
The attack resulted in a fire in the vessel’s engine room that has been brought under control, UKMTO added.
It is the second incident the agency reports on Sunday after reporting an incident off Oman’s Kumzar in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state television said Sunday that an oil tanker was sinking after it was struck while attempting to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The incident took place as Iran exchanged strikes with the United States and Israel, who launched an attack Saturday that killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader.
“The fate of the offending oil tanker that was struck while attempting to illegally pass through the Strait of Hormuz is that it is now sinking,” state TV reported, without elaborating.
It carried footage showing heavy black smoke emanating from the burning tanker at sea.
The strait carries a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and a fifth of all liquified natural gas.
On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had warned that the vital waterway was unsafe due to US and Israeli attacks and was therefore closed to ships.
