The name of one of the victims of Tuesday’s mortar attack on Kibbutz Nirim in the Eshkol Regional Council was cleared for publication on Tuesday night: Ze’evik Etzion, 55.
Etzion, the security coordinator of Kibbutz Nirim, was the first casualty in the attack. He was critically wounded and shortly thereafter died of his wounds.
A second person, whose name has not yet been disclosed, was pronounced dead at the Soroka Hospital on Tuesday evening.
Etzion is survived by his wife and five children. Five other people were wounded in the rocket attack, and they are all receiving treatment in hospital.
The fatal attack came just as the Palestinian Authority (PA) claimed that Israel had agreed to a long-term ceasefire.
Under the agreement, there will be an immediate easing of restrictions on the two main crossings between Israel and Gaza to allow in aid and reconstruction supplies.
Significantly, construction materials needed to repair the water network, electricity grid and mobile phone networks will be allowed in along with humanitarian aid, food and medical supplies. It should be noted that Israel continued supplying humanitarian goods throughout most of Operation Protective Edge.
As for the Gaza fishing zone, restrictions will be lifted immediately to extend the zone to six nautical miles from the shore, to be extended later to 12 miles. Over the past eight years, Israel has set a six-nautical-mile limit for Gaza's fishermen when tensions were lower, restricting it to three miles when hostilities have escalated.