A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip went into effect earlier this morning. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Hamas today that the ceasefire was the group’s last chance to avoid a major Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian-proposed ceasefire is expected to ease the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Under the agreement, Israel has pledged not to engage in offensive action in Gaza, and Hamas has pledged to stop all Palestinian militant groups in Gaza from attacking Israel. Residents of Gaza expressed hope that living conditions would improve during the ceasefire.

Salma Abu Hassan: “We hope that it will continue and for them not to betray us, like every time they say OK to a truce, and then they hit us, and the assassinations and shelling and the killing of the people follow. Isn’t it a shame for the young and old and the women? Isn’t it unfair?”

Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev said Israel supports the ceasefire in order to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Mark Regev: “Israel has decided to accept the Egyptian proposals, and it is our sincere hope that from tomorrow our civilian population in the south will no longer be the victim of these continued barrages of rockets and mortar shells from terrorists in the Gaza Strip, and we’ll have a new period of peace and quiet.”