Il ceasefire signed yesterday evening at 21 (local time) between Hamas and Israel still holds, after giving Gaza its first peaceful night since the beginning of the conflict. Israel claims its respect of the commitments and denounces the launch, which took place after the truce, of 12 rockets in its territory while Hamas announces that "as long as Israel respects the agreements, we too will respect them". The mediation of Egyptian Prime Minister Mohamed Morsi is essential for reaching the agreement.
The death toll of the last week, with 155 Palestinian dead, 5 Israelis and over 500 injured, could at this point be definitive, even if the balances appear decidedly fragile, and the feared escalation could simply be postponed.
In the Gaza Strip Islamic militants celebrated late into the night, while on the Israeli side the joy is certainly more contained and, indeed, there are those who accuse Prime Minister Netanyahu of having stopped too soon.
