By Xinhua,
Jerusalem : A mortar shell fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip hit Israel’s western Negev region early Tuesday morning, the first breach of an Egyptian-brokered truce that went into effect last week.
No injuries or damage were reported.
Also in the early hours of Tuesday morning, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed two Palestinian militants in the West Bank city of Nablus, local media reported.
However, a spokesman for the IDF told Xinhua that only one gunman, who was a senior operative of Islamic Jihad (Holy War), was killed in the joint IDF-Shin Bet operation.
According to local daily Ha’aretz, a 24-year-old gunman by the name of Iad Hanfar of Hamas was also dead in the raid.
The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement was struck between Israel and Hamas last week, but the deal only extends to the Gaza Strip, leaving the IDF free to operate in the West Bank.
While Islamic Jihad said it would abide by the ceasefire, the group also said it would reserve the right “to respond to the Zionist violations” of the truce.
“Any aggression, in the Gaza Strip or West Bank, requires a response by the resistance,” Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the Islamic Jihad military wing, said last week.
“But the mechanism of response, its place and time, will be decided according to the nature of the aggression.”