Israel has reached a ceasefire with Islamic terror groups in the Gaza Strip, ending four days of fighting and rocket attacks on Israel.
An Israeli official declared this round of fighting seemed to be over.
“We hope there will be a return to calm as of today and we are truly very appreciative of Egypt’s efforts to intervene,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor.
The ceasefire, which went into effect at 1 a.m. Tuesday, comes after Islamic Jihad and other Gaza-based terror groups fired nearly 200 rockets into southern Israel since Friday. Many were intercepted by Israel’s anti-missle system called the Iron Dome.
The Iron Dome is the world’s only short-range anti-missile system. It’s the equivalent of hitting a bullet with a bullet. Israel’s air defense commander says it marks a new era in military history.
“I think it’s important to mention that it’s even worldwide a new era because there are not such systems in any other places in the world,” Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish told CBN News.
“And this is basically the first time that, unfortunately, we have it. But it’s the first time that such a system is being deployed under real operational situation,” he noted.
The Iron Dome system achieved up to a 90 percent success rate during the conflict. It had a profound impact on the population.
“It does a wonderful impact because the public feels very safe. Sometimes it feels over protected because it’s not 100 percent that they will hit every round,” said Col. Gili Shinhar, Home Front Command spokesman.
Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak said Israel plans to deploy another Iron Dome battery in the near future. Despite the temporary truce, many believe it will be necessary to protect Israelis in the next conflict with Islamic groups from the Gaza Strip.
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