Israel and Hamas claim victory as ceasefire holds

Israel and Hamas both claimed victory on Friday after their forces ended 11 days of fighting, but humanitarian officials warned that the damage to Gaza would take years to rebuild.

Palestinian officials put the reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars, while economists said the fighting could curb Israel’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five more bodies were pulled from Gaza’s rubble, taking the death toll to 248, including 66 children, with more than 1,900 wounded.

The Israeli military said an Israeli soldier had been killed as well as 12 civilians, including two children. Hundreds were treated for injuries after rocket salvoes caused panic and sent people as far away as Tel Aviv rushing into shelters.

World Health Organization spokeswoman Margaret Harris said Gaza’s health facilities were in danger of being overwhelmed by the thousands of injuries.

She called for immediate access into the Gaza Strip for health supplies and personnel. “The real challenges are the closures,” she told a virtual U.N. briefing.

Gaza has for years been subjected to an Israeli blockade that restricts the passage of people and goods, as well as restrictions by Egypt.

Both countries cite concerns about weapons reaching Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and led the rocket barrage. Palestinians say the restrictions amount to collective punishment of Gaza’s 2 million population.

Fabrizio Carboni, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, echoed WHO’s call for urgent medical supplies, adding: “It will take years to rebuild – and even more to rebuild the fractured lives.”

After working behind the scenes for days to reach a truce, the White House said on Friday that it had received “strong assurances” from “relevant parties” that they are committed to an Israel-Gaza truce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a televised address to Israelis, saying the operation had damaged Hamas’s ability to launch missiles at Israel.

He said Israel had destroyed Hamas’s extensive tunnel network, its rocket factories, weapons laboratories and storage facilities, and killed more than 200 militants, including 25 senior figures.

“Hamas can’t hide anymore. That’s a great achievement for Israel,” he said.

Israel said Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups fired around 4,350 rockets from Gaza during the conflict, of which around 640 fell short into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said that 90% of those that crossed the border had been intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system.

Iran, which does not recognise Israel but supports Hamas and says it has transformed the Palestinian fighters’ arsenal, said they had won a “historic victory.”

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh cast the fighting as successful resistance to a militarily and economically stronger foe.

“We will rebuild what the occupation (Israel) destroyed and restore our capabilities,” he said, “and we will not abandon our obligations and duties to the families of martyrs, the wounded and those whose homes were destroyed.”

Haniyeh expressed gratitude to Egyptian, Qatari and U.N. mediators, and to Iran, “which has not given up on providing the resistance with money, weapons and technology”.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Muslim states in a statement to “support the Palestinian people, through military … or financial support … or in rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure”.

Ezzat el-Reshiq, a senior member of the Hamas political bureau, told Reuters in Doha the movement’s demands included protection for the Al-Aqsa mosque, and for Palestinians threatened with eviction from their homes in East Jerusalem.

Reuters