9 Qassams fall in Negev
Photo: Ze'ev Trachtman
Hamas says operating against Qassam fire
Palestinian organizations announce they have decide to return to original ceasefire agreement after firing nine rockets at Israel Friday; retaliation to IDF Gaza op deemed adequate, says source
Following the Qassam fire that rained down on the south of Israel Friday, Hamas' security forces announced they would begin cracking down on the fire emerging from the Gaza Strip.
The organization's internal security agents began to mobilize Friday evening towards Sejaiya district in an attempt to halt the rocket fire. According to Hamas the agents even succeeded in blocking an Islamic Jihad vehicle driving a Qassam-launching cell. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket fire on Friday.
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Despite the recent escalation of violence, sources from the Gaza Strip told Ynet that due to current talks among the Palestinian organizations and pressure applied by Egypt over the Qassam fire, the Gazan groups were leaning towards ceasing the fire over the next few hours and returning to the original truce agreement with Israel.
"The organizations are currently leaning towards continuing the ceasefire," a senior Gazan official told Ynet.
But the official noted that there was still some indecision within Hamas, regarding the question of whether the organization would continue to maintain the agreement with Israel.
The source said, however, that over the next few hours the fire would in all likeliness cease, as the organizations judged that they had adequately retaliated to the IDF operation in the central Gaza Strip earlier this week.
The operation exposed a tunnel that had been intended for the kidnapping of IDF soldiers. It resulted in the deaths of seven Palestinians. The army had postulated that the operation would lead to Qassam fire on the Negev, but allowed that the ceasefire would probably be preserved.
