Israel tells citizens to maintain routine after Gaza violence

The Israeli army said there are no special security considerations for civilians in southern Israel on Saturday, hours after Hamas declared a ceasefire with Israel following violence that left four Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead on Friday.

“At the end of a situation assessment of the Southern Command this morning it was decided to maintain a full civilian routine in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip,” the Israeli army said on Twitter early Saturday.

Despite the Hamas-announced ceasefire, the army said it fired on a Hamas military post on Saturday after a group of Palestinians breached a border fence and crossed into Israel.

The army said the suspects “infiltrated into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip” and then returned to Gaza.

An army spokeswoman would not confirm the ceasefire, but had said that Israel ceased its overnight offensive in the coastal enclave.

The army said it hit 60 targets overnight in retaliation for a shooting attack on Friday along the Gaza border that killed its soldier.

Four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the ensuing clashes, the Gaza Health Ministry said. According to Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, three of those killed were Hamas members.

Following the surge in violence, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said on Twitter an agreement with “the occupiers” (Israel) had been reached with assistance from Egypt and the United Nations.

Friday saw renewed demonstrations along the Gaza border, with Palestinians burning tyres, attempting to damage the border fence with Israel and sending flaming kites and balloons into Israeli territory, eyewitness said.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, protests have seen 146 Palestinians killed and thousands injured by Israeli soldiers since the end of March.

Israel disputes these numbers saying some of those killed were militants attempting attacks.

The UN Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, who had recently worked with Egypt to de-escalate the situation in the region, urged those involved to show restraint and calm.

“Everyone in #Gaza needs to step back from the brink. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Right NOW!” Mladenov wrote on Twitter on Friday.

Palestinians have been demanding an end to the blockade of Gaza that was imposed more than 10 years ago, as well as a right to return to the territory from which they were expelled when Israel was founded in 1948.

Israel says that Hamas, which most of the West considers a terrorist organization, is using the protests as a mask to attempt attacks on the Israeli border fence and border communities.

Hamas and Israel fought a war lasting 50 days in the summer of 2014. In total, 2,250 Palestinians were killed or later died from their injuries, while 74 Israelis died in the conflict.