This is the euphoria of victory,” said Khalil al-Hayya, the second most senior member of the Islamist movement’s political bureau in the Gaza Strip. He also promised to reconstruct homes destroyed by Israeli air strikes. The ceasefire brokered by Egypt, that also included Gaza’s second-most powerful armed group, Islamic Jihad, was agreed on Thursday evening and came into force on Friday after international pressure to stem the bloodshed which erupted earlier this month. Israeli strikes on Gaza since May 10 have killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, as well as fighters, and have wounded another 1,900, according to the Gaza health ministry.
