Israel and Gaza are experiencing a first morning of calm today after eleven days of the "Guardian of the Walls" escalation of war, and the calm remains after a truce went into effect early this morning.
The ceasefire went into effect this Friday (21.05.2021) at 02:00 local time (11:00GMT). Since then no air raid alarms have been sounded, no rocket fire by Palestinian militias into Israel and no attacks by the Israeli army on Gaza have been recorded.
After seven hours of calm, the armed forces lifted most of the security and movement restrictions that applied mainly in the area bordering Gaza, although schools and other educational institutions will remain closed today in the south and center of the country, reported the Times of Israel.
Israel and Hamas agree on a truce "without conditions".
The Israeli Security Cabinet approved Thursday to accept the "bilateral and unconditional" cessation of hostilities and Hamas announced shortly thereafter that it "had guarantees to carry it out".
The truce puts an end to eleven days of escalation that have left 232 Palestinians dead in Gaza and another 12 people in Israel.
Palestinians in the occupied Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem celebrated the cease-fire in the streets tonight, which they hailed as a victory against Israel.