Since the start of Operation Protective Edge, at least 3,250 rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza. However, Israel still looks forward to a peace process if the other side is willing to do so. Today, August 5th, Israel has notified Egypt that it has agreed to their ceasefire proposal, and the 72-hour ceasefire went into effect at 8:00 AM.
All Israel’s Defense Force (IDF)’s ground troops will have pulled out of the Gaza Strip by the start of the ceasefire, and will maintain defensive positions near the Gaza border. Israel completed the destruction of 32 cross-border tunnels.
In the last hour before the ceasefire, rocket barrages are fired at Ashdod, Ashkelon, Beersheba, Rishon Lezion, Gush Etzion, Bethlehem, and Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem. An M-75 rocket fired from Gaza, minutes before the ceasefire took effect, landed near a mosque, striking a home in Beit Sahour, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Yesterday, August 4th, Israel authorized a humanitarian window to take place in the Gaza Strip from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The IDF will continue to neutralize the Hamas tunnel network and will respond to any attempt to harm Israeli civilians or IDF soldiers.
On the evening of Monday, July 28th, IDF forces operating in the area of the Karni Crossing engaged terrorists emerging from a terror tunnel inside Israeli territory. Five Israeli soldiers were killed. During the operational activity to neutralize the tunnel, IDF forces found a wide array of weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, explosives, launchers, and AK-47 assault rifles. In addition, three motorcycles were found, ready for use, facing the opening of the tunnel into Israeli territory, intended for use in a complex terror attack on Israeli residential communities in close proximity to the Gaza border.
Here are some pictures of the above mentioned weapons, and a map of rocket launches from Gaza to Israel.