Open-ended Israel-Hamas cease-fire begins

On Tuesday, Israeli and Palestinian leaders came to an agreement on an open-ended cease-fire, which addresses few of the demands made by Hamas. The cease-fire went into effect Tuesday evening, prompting public celebrations in Gaza.

A fishing zone off the coast of Gaza has been extended from 3 miles to 6 miles offshore, and border crossings that are controlled by Israel will allow humanitarian aid to come in quickly. But other requests — like Hamas asking for an airport and seaport in Gaza, and Israel calling for the demilitarization of Gaza — won't be discussed unless the truce holds up for a month, The New York Times reports.

The agreement was called "reasonable" by Yuval Steinitz, a senior Israeli government minister. "We did not want this violence, and we did not want this war," he said. Hamas declared victory, with spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri saying, "We achieved some of our instantaneous demands out of this battle. We become closer to Jerusalem and our Palestinian lands."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Since July 8, more than 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died. On Israel's side, 64 soldiers and six civilians are dead.