An Israeli army spokesperson has announced Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza border could return to a normal “civilian routine” as calm seems to be restored after a deadly exchange with Gaza militants on Friday.
“At the end of an assessment by the southern command this morning it was decided to maintain a full civilian routine in the communities close to the Gaza strip,” the statement read, adding “there are no special restrictions on the home front.”
Israel and Hamas have agreed to restore calm in the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for Hamas said on Saturday, after an escalation late Friday evening.
“With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between [Israel] and Palestinian factions,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Reuters.
Despite the lull in the fighting, on Saturday morning the Israeli army targeted a Hamas position with tank fire after suspects crossed into Israel from Gaza. The suspects then headed back to the strip and the Israeli army did not report on any casualties in its statement.
During Friday’s clashes, an Israeli soldier was killed by Palestinian gunmen along the Gaza border. The soldier’s family has been informed of his death, but his identity and the exact circumstances of the incident are yet to be disclosed by the army.
The slain soldier is the first to be killed on the Gaza front in active duty since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, an Israeli army spokesman said. He was wearing a bulletproof vest when he came under sniper fire but he was declared dead shortly after he was transferred to Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Be’er Sheva.
Four Palestinians were also killed in the exchange. Hamas’ armed wing, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed that three were members of the organization.