News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) According to a senior military source quoted in Haaretz, Israel and Hamas reached an understanding last week according to which Hamas will not fire rockets on Israeli cities and in exchange Israel will not attack Gaza terrorists.  The source credited the agreement with the unusually low number of rocket attacks this week.  Only three rockets have been fired at Israeli towns since Friday, as compared to hundreds that were fired last week.

The source criticized the decision to ease up on Hamas, saying it ran counter to the cabinet’s decision last week to keep up pressure on Gaza terrorists.  “We don’t gain anything by this,” he said, “Tomorrow there could be 60 Kassams [rockets] on Sderot, and we have not advanced one centimeter towards achieving the goals we set for ourselves in the cabinet.”

The understanding with Hamas is not an official ceasefire, the source said.  Israeli officials have said for some time that the IDF will cease major operations in Gaza if Gaza terrorists stop firing rockets.