On this day of Thanksgiving, the people of Israel and Gaza have so much to be thankful for. At least for this brief moment in time, they have been blessed with peace. I commend President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for stopping the bloodshed. I hope that the President will take this opportunity to forge a long term solution to this ongoing crisis in the Holy Land.
Al Jazeera reports that:
A ceasefire has gone into effect in and around the Gaza Strip, after Israel and Hamas agreed to cease hostilities.
Many Palestinians in Gaza City took to the streets to celebrate the truce on Wednesday night, blasting car horns and setting off fireworks from rooftops amid celebratory gunfire.
The Egyptian foreign minister announced the ceasefire agreement hours before it took hold at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday.
Mohamed Kamel Amr thanked all parties involved in mediating the truce as he made the announcement in a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israel was to stop all aggression against the Gaza Strip from land, sea and air, including cross-border incursions and targeted killings.
Palestinian factions were to cease all rocket fire and attacks from Gaza towards Israel, including along the border.
Twenty-four hours after the ceasefire takes effect, Israel will also be committed to opening of all border crossings and ease restrictions on movements of people and goods in and out of the enclave.
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