GAZA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Both Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad announced on Saturday night that the efforts exerted to reach an agreement with Israel on getting back to calm and end escalation in the Gaza Strip "had succeeded."
Hazem Qassem, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a statement that mediation and intervention of regional and international parties had reached an agreement on ending the current round of escalation between Gaza militants and Israel which started on Friday night and ended on Saturday night.
Qassem did not mention which regional or international parties he referred to.
Local media reports quoted senior Hamas officials on condition of anonymity as saying that senior Egyptian security intelligence official and the United Nations Special Envoy Nicolai Mladinov mediated a ceasefire in Gaza with Israel.
Meanwhile, Dawood Shihab, spokesman of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, told reporters that intensive contacts with the Egyptians within the past few hours led to regaining calm in the Gaza Strip.
"The Palestinian military resistance had positively dealt with the Egyptian efforts and agreed to calm in condition that the occupation stops its aggression on the Gaza Strip," he said, adding "it is the right of the Palestinian armed resistance to respond to any Israeli violation."
The calm came shortly after two Gaza children were killed and more than 40 wounded in the intensive Israeli war plane airstrikes waged on the Gaza Strip since Friday night.
