JERUSALEM (VINnews) — UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, welcomed the ceasefire between the Islamic Jihad and Israel, which went into effect at 10 PM Saturday.
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“I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries, including children and women, from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and the indiscriminate firing of rockets toward Israel by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other militant groups. Deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the violence and their loved ones,” Wennesland said in a statement.
“I commend Egypt for its efforts to help restore calm. I call on all sides to observe the ceasefire,” he added.
“I look forward to the immediate restoration of humanitarian access and all social and economic measures to support Palestinian livelihoods in Gaza,” concluded the UN envoy.
The Egypt-brokered ceasefire was scheduled to take effect on Saturday night at 10:00 p.m., though a final barrage of rockets was fired towards Israel about an hour after that time, and the IDF retaliated by hitting three concealed rocket launchers and a military post used as training facilities of the Islamic Jihad.
National Security Council(NSC) chief Tzachi Hanegbi expressed on Saturday night his appreciation for Egypt’s efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“The NSC Director made it clear that Israel’s acceptance of the Egyptian initiative means that ‘quiet will be met with quiet,’ and that if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do everything that it needs to in order to defend itself,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office read.
Who on earth asked for his opinion?