"With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between (Israel) and Palestinian factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday that Israel and Hamas agreed to cease fire in the Gaza Strip after a day of cross-border hostilities, adding that Palestinian armed groups in the enclave have confirmed to mediators in Egypt their willingness to restore peace.
"Egyptian and international efforts have brought a lull in fighting between the occupying forces and Palestinian groups," Barhum said.
Earlier in the day, Israeli forces unleashed a series of strikes on more than 40 Hamas military targets in the Gaza Strip.
"Israel's military said its aircraft and tanks targeted 40 Hamas posts and that the strikes formed part of a 'wide-scale attack' in response to the border shooting," the IDF’s Jonathan Conricus tweeted.
The Israeli Defense Forces also said their jets and tanks had pounded the militant group's infrastructure, attacking almost 70 targets throughout the enclave.
An Israeli soldier was shot and severely injured by militants during "operational activity" near southern Gaza. He later died of his wounds, prompting the Israel Defense Forces to retaliate.
The IDF also said on Twitter that among the 25 targets it had engaged was a Hamas battalion headquarters in Khan Yunis. The attack wiped out its command and control capabilities, the Israeli military claimed.
On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to immediately intervene to quell the new escalation between the Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
IDF fighter jets continue to strike military targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The IDF recently completed an additional strike on 25 military targets located in a Hamas battalion headquarter in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/jcQL21fgKQ
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) 20 июля 2018 г.
Friday's escalation claimed the lives of at least four Palestinians and one Israeli soldier, according to separate reports by the Gaza Strip Healthcare Ministry and the IDF.
