The Israel-Hamas conflict had claimed lives of 2,143 Palestinians and 70 Israelis
Palestinian youth inspect the damage of Ali Ibn Abi Talib government school after it was hit overnight in an Israeli strike in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. (Photo: AP)
Doha: Qatar, a key backer of Palestinian militant group Hamas, hailed the Gaza ceasefire accord and offered to help rebuild the enclave battered by seven weeks of Israeli bombardment.
The accord for a long-term ceasefire which came into effect yesterday was thanks "firstly to the resistance and the sacrifices" of the Palestinians, the gas-rich Gulf emirate said in a statement. It said Qatar, which is home to Khaled Meshaal, the exiled chief of the Islamist movement Hamas, was "ready to contribute to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as soon as possible".
Palestinians walk in front of the damage of the Italian
Complex following several late night Israeli airstrikes
in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, on
Tuesday. (Photo: AP)
The conflict, which began on July 8 when Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in a bid to stamp out cross-border rocket fire, cost the lives of 2,143 Palestinians and 70 on the Israeli side. The Egyptian-mediated deal ending a war which wreaked widespread destruction in Gaza calls for an easing of Israel's eight-year blockade of the impoverished coastal strip, a key Palestinian demand in truce talks.
Iran says Hamas 'brought Israel to its knees'
(Photo: AP)
Iran said on Wednesday said that Palestinian militants had emerged the victors and brought their Israeli foe "to its knees" during the bloody 50-day Gaza conflict. "The heroic Palestinian people have forged a new era with the victory of the resistance which has brought the Zionist regime to its knees," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"This victory prepares the way for the final liberation of all the occupied lands especially Quds (Jerusalem)," it said, congratulating the Palestinian people and the militant groups in Gaza that Iran supports. After seven weeks of the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in a decade, a long-term ceasefire took hold at 1600 GMT yesterday, sparking festivities around the Gaza Strip.
In this Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 photo, exiled Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, left,
and Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wave during a news
conference upon Meshaal's arrival at Rafah crossing in the southern
Gaza Strip. (Photo: AP)
The conflict, which began on July 8 when Israel began Operation Protective Edge in a bid to stamp out cross-border rocket fire, cost the lives of 2,143 Palestinians and 70 on the Israeli side. UN figures show nearly 70 per cent of the Palestinian victims were civilians, while 64 of the Israelis killed were soldiers.
A Palestinian official said the Egyptian-mediated deal would involve an end to Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza. Ending the blockade had been a key Palestinian demand in truce talks, with the Islamist movement Hamas that rules Gaza hailing the agreement as a "victory for the resistance".
Watch Video: Thousands of Palestinians flooded the streets to celebrate Gaza ceasefire
( Source : PTI )
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