Truce officially starts in Gaza after seven weeks of Israeli aggression

Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziyad Nakhalah says Israel failed to achieve its stated goals in the Gaza war as a four-day truce takes effect in the besieged territory after seven weeks of massacres.

The truce, negotiated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, took effect at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Friday, while Palestinians, who were sheltering for weeks at UNRWA schools and hospitals in southern Gaza, began leaving to go to their homes and check what has been left of them.

The truce agreement stipulates the release of Israeli criminals held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The prisoner swap will take place later in the day. The ceasefire took effect after a night of intense Israeli bombardment.

Aid trucks are supposed to enter Gaza in these four days, according to Al Jazeera.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm in response to Tel Aviv’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.

The Government Media Office in Gaza said on Thursday that at least 14,854 Palestinians, including more than 6,150 children and 4,000 women, have been killed and over 36,000 others injured in the Israeli strikes.

Some 207 health workers and 65 Palestinians were among those killed. That’s while 7,000 Palestinians are still missing.

According to the report, 60 percent of homes in Gaza have either been destroyed or damaged due to the aggression.