Israel and the Palestinians have begun a fresh 5-day truce in Gaza, although the ceasefire had a shaky start with rockets being fired across the borders.
As the new truce was announced, Israel launched air strikes in response to what they called rockets fired from Gaza. According to Jerusalem Post, Israeli jets struck rocket launch sites and what it reported to be a 'terrorist base' in the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, shortly after the fresh truce was agreed upon by both the sides.
Israel says the attacks were in response to rocket attacks on southern Israel from Gaza, which was reportedly carried out throughout Wednesday night.
The exchange of fire, however, did not stop the cease-fire from coming in effect on Thursday at 12 am which was reported to have been accepted by both sides according to Palestinian and Egyptian sources.
Two rockets fired from Gaza landed in open areas of Sh'ar HaNegev and another landed in the Eshkol Regional Council, the newspaper reported. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome.
Hamas, which controls Gaza and is involved in the Cairo talks, has denied launching the overnight rocket attacks on Wednesday.
Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said in a Twitter post: "No need to jump to conclusions. I don't know who launched 10pm rocket at Israel."
There were no immediate reports of casualties from either side.
Palestinian sources have said that the new truce will create a window for further negotiations, the BBC reports. Talks about a lasting solution to the problem, however, are likely to be difficult, various newspapers have noted.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing unnamed sources, that as the previous three-day ceasefire hit the midpoint on Tuesday, talks of a more sustainable truce between Israel and Palestine appeared to have stalled.
A senior Israeli official was cited saying that 'large gaps' between the two sides still remained to be bridged and that another temporary ceasefire - extending to three more days - could be negotiated after the current one expires on Wednesday.
The development comes after it emerged on Monday that Israel has agreed during the ongoing negotiations in Cairo to ease conditions in the Gaza Strip.
