© Ashraf Amra/APA ImagesPalestinians celebrate in the streets following a ceasefire
May 21, 2021
- After 11 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire, negotiated by Egypt, that started early Friday, 2 AM Jerusalem time. US President Joe Biden "commended" Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for ending hostilities.
- Gaza death reached at least 232, including 65 children, and 1,760 injured due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes; 50,000 families have been displaced, 24 health facilities suffered partial or complete damage, Gaza Ministry of Health reports.
Israel attacks worshipers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, again:Israeli forces are reportedly attacking worshipers at the al-Aqsa mosque compound, following a massive demonstration after Friday prayers during which Palestinians celebrated victory after a Gaza ceasefire. Local media is reporting that Israeli forces are firing tear gas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets.
© Ashraf Amra/APA ImagesPalestinians took shelter in a school begin transport home.
Palestinians across Gaza and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem took to the streets in celebration in the early hours of Friday morning, as
a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas authorities in Gaza went into effect at 2am.The ceasefire, which was brokered by Egypt and said to be "mutual" by both Israeli and Hamas officials,
came after 11 days of Israeli bombardments that killed at least 232 Palestinians, including 65 children in Gaza. On the Israeli side,
12 people including two children died as a result of Hamas rocket fire from Gaza.Leading up to the 2am ceasefire, Israeli bombardments on sites in the Gaza Strip continued, while the military wings of Islamic Jihad and Hamas fired rockets into Israel.
But once the ceasefire officially took effect at 2am, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza poured into the streets in celebration of an end to the Israeli offensive — the fourth of its kind since 2009.Al Jazeera
reported that the start of the ceasefire was being treated like "the first day of Eid" in Gaza, as Gazans spent this year's Eid al-Fitr holidays (May 13-15) under heavy bombardment.
Al Jazeera reporter Youmna al-Sayed also said that displaced families were already returning to their homes from UN-run schools where they had been seeking shelter.
Similar scenes unfolded across Jerusalem and the West Bank, as videos flooded social media showing thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territory celebrating what they were calling a major victory for the Palestinian resistance, and an end to the killing of their people in Gaza.
Comment: Relief was evident as Palestinians celebrated the end of hostilities, death and damage - as skirmishes at Al-Aqsa became the new reminder.
Update 20/5/2021 22:35 Biden to help IDF,
continue support for Israel:
© Reuters/Jonathan ErnstUS President Joe Biden gives remarks on the ceasefire.
Reiterating Washington's support for Israel's "right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks" in a brief national address on Thursday evening, Biden said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
"also shared with me his appreciation for the Iron Dome system, which our nations developed together and which has saved the lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew. I assured him of my full support to replenish Israel's Iron Dome system to ensure its defenses and security in the future. I send sincere condolences to all the families, Israeli and Palestinian, who have lost loved ones."
Biden said Washington would work to provide "rapid humanitarian assistance" and aid reconstruction efforts in Gaza, where some 450 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in Israeli strikes. This effort would be "in full partnership with the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas."
Update 20/5/2021: Ceasefire ends the terror in Gaza...for now.
Accountability and trust remain in question:
A group of human rights experts stated:
"The international community must ensure that Israel, the occupying power, complies fully with the more than 30 UN Security Council resolutions and the hundreds of General Assembly resolutions of which it is in breach. A brand new diplomatic playbook is needed, which leaves behind realpolitik. A rights-based approach must guide the diplomacy of the international community to secure a just and durable solution."
Update: 21/5/2021 2:23: Street parades and impromptu fireworks displays erupted in Palestinian cities early on Friday morning, even as the destruction toll of over 450 buildings and death and injury tally is still underway:
Update: 21/5/2021 11:22: Israeli police storm al-Aqsa complex following the ceasefire in pursuit of worshippers who gathered to celebrate:
Footage released on social media showed Israeli police firing into crowds of Palestinian worshippers shortly after they had congregated for Friday prayers. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said officers had been targeted by Palestinians who threw stones, and began "riot" suppressing measures.
At least 20 Palestinians have been wounded, with two being taken to hospital, according to Palestine Red Crescent. Reuters reported stones and molotov cocktails being thrown towards police.
“Abu Dhabi’s rulers are gambling by linking their fate to that of the Israeli far-right, especially since some inside the Emirates, even among the sheikhs of the ruling families, are opposed to normalization with the enemy. Indeed, the rulers of Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah, Ajman, and Umm al-Quwain, did not issue any official support following the signing of the normalization agreement last year, noting that some sheikhs, such as the Qawassem sheikhs in Sharjah, have nationalistic tendencies. At this level, Emirati oppositionist Hamad ash-Shamsi expressed the seriousness of this gamble by saying: “The normalizers with the occupation state have boarded the wrong ship at the wrong time. And when the ship sinks, those who are on it drown with it.”