Palestine and Israel Reach a Truce
After Israel's weekend shelling of Palestinian targets sparked longer-range rocket attacks against its cities, Israel and the Palestinian leadership reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza that will take effect as of Sunday evening, according to sources in Cairo. Israel had accepted the idea, according to an Egyptian security source, while a Palestinian official acquainted with Egyptian operations stated that the truce will begin at 20:00. (1700 GMT). Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian organization, announced that they have accepted a ceasefire negotiated by Cairo to put an end to a three-day-long, fierce war with Israel that has claimed the lives of at least 41 Palestinians. In a statement, senior Islamic Jihad member Mohammad al-Hindi said, "A little while ago the text of the Egyptian truce deal was achieved, which involves Egypt's pledge to strive towards the release of two detainees, (Bassem) al-Saadi and (Khalil) Awawdeh." A senio