Ceasefire after three days of violence leaves at least 43 dead in Gaza

It is the biggest flare-up on the Gaza frontier for more than a year (Picture: EPA/REX/AFP)

At least 15 children are among 43 people killed in violence in Gaza as news of a ceasefire deal sparks some relief.

Fears of another war were heightened when Israel launched strikes on a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Friday.

Palestinian targets were pounded throughout the weekend, while militants fired rounds of rockets back.

Gaza officials say 43 Palestinians, almost half of them civilians, have been killed, while hundreds more have been wounded.

But it’s hoped further tragedy has been avoided for now as Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant agree to a truce.

It comes into effect at 11.30pm local time (8.30pm GMT), Islamic Jihad and a Palestinian official familiar with the ceasefire efforts said.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office later confirmed the ceasefire, mediated by Egypt on Sunday.

The fighting marks the biggest flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year.

Palestinians gather on the rubble of houses at the scene where a senior commander of Islamic Jihad militant group was killed (Picture: Reuters)

A funeral in the Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 07 August 2022 (Picture: EPA)

Relatives mourn for Khalil Abu Hamada, a young Palestinian killed in the night at the Jabalia refugee camp (Picture: Nidal Alwaheidi/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)

A crater in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon following a rocket attack fired from Gaza (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas, which rules the strip, fought an 11-day war with Israel back in May 2021.

The group has resisted intervening in the current conflict, with concerns it would quickly escalate if it did.

This is likely down to the impact that reprisals would have on the impoverished territory.

Worry over stepping on economic understandings in place with Israel – including Israeli work permits for thousands of Gaza residents – is also thought to be a factor.

Israel claimed on Friday that it had set in motion a ‘pre-emptive’ operation ahead of a would-be an Islamic Jihad attack in response to the arrest of senior member Bassam al-Saadi.

It started with a strike on Friday that assassinated Tayseer Jabari, a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad.

Khaled Mansour, a prominent leader in the same group, was then killed the following day in an air strike on an apartment building in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza.

The missile obliterated the three-story building and left nearby houses badly damaged.

Smoke billows from a building struck during an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strike (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

A view of destroyed houses in Rafah town (Picture: EPA)

A Palestinian man rests amidst the rubble at the scene where senior commander of Islamic Jihad militant group Khaled Mansour was killed (Picture: Reuters)

An Israeli Iron Dome air defence system launches a missile to intercept rockets fired from the Gaza Strip (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

A funeral for Mansour was held in the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon.

Distressing pictures show Palestinians mourning the dead, while many Israelis have fled to shelters as explosions shake the area and sirens wail.

There have been four wars and a number of other battles between Israel and Palestine over the past 15 years.

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