Haniya Calls on Factions to Respect Gaza Truce

The Hamas prime minister of the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniya, on Thursday called on all Palestinian factions to respect a truce deal reached with Israel a day earlier.

"I salute the resistance factions who have respected the agreement since it entered into force and I ask everyone to respect it and act accordingly," Haniya said in a Gaza City speech.

Haniya also called on "the security services to follow up on the matter."

"We in the government bear the great responsibility of protecting our people and also protecting this agreement, which the occupation has committed to," he said.

A truce to end eight days of violence in and around Gaza was agreed between Israel and Hamas and announced in Cairo on Wednesday evening, with Hamas expected to enforce its terms on the various militant groups in the Palestinian territory.

The deal calls on Israel to "stop all hostilities... in the land, sea and air, including incursions and targeting of individuals."

It also urges the Palestinian factions to end "rocket attacks and all attacks along the border."

During the eight eight-day operation, the Israeli army said it hit more than 1,500 targets, as Gaza militants fired 1,354 rockets over the border, of which 933 struck Israel and another 421 were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.

The Hamas-run health ministry said the air strikes killed 163 Palestinians and wounded 1,235, while in Israel five people, including a soldier, were killed by rocket fire and another 280 wounded, army figures showed.