Islamic Jihad leaders said Thursday afternoon that Egypt has brokered a ceasefire following the Israeli Air Force’s bombing of smuggling tunnels in the Gaza-Egypt border city of Rafiah Thursday afternoon in retaliation for Islamic Jihad missile attacks on the Ashkelon-Ashdod area earlier in the day.

Israel has not commented on the report, but there is relative quiet in the Jewish communities near Gaza.

“The ceasefire has been reached with the mediation of Egypt and will continue until Israel breaks it,” Islamic Jihad said in a statement.

Assuming the terrorists honor the ceasefire, which probably will be broken by an occasional Kassam rocket attack just to let everyone that the terrorists are not sleeping, it will put an end to the latest war of chickens.

The sudden and massive missile barrage on Israel last night and today caused no injuries other than emotional shock, and it is not coincidental that the equally massive IDF retaliation Wednesday did not cause any casualties.Gaza sources said three people were injured in the aerial strikes on Rafiah. No one was killed, and terrorists’ smuggling tunnels and not the terrorists themselves were the targets.

Nobody except the simple peasants in Gaza want an escalation of violence to the point that Israel has no choice other than to make Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s dream come true by invading and taking over Gaza, rescuing the average Mohammed on the street from the despotic Hamas regime that has made their lives worse than miserable, although Yasser Arafat gets the credit for having stared the bomb rolling down that road.

Islamic Jihad launched a new round of attacks on Israel as a response to the Israeli military’s killing three of its terrorist after they fired a mortar shell at Israeli soldiers earlier this week..

Iran could have a hand in the decision to strike back since Israel exposed the Islamic Republic regime’s evil hand in trying to arm Hamas so it can carry out a proxy war on Israel. If Israel really wants to retaliate for the missile attacks, Tehran is a better target than Gaza, but that is not going to happen so long as President Barack Obama keeps Iran chattering so no one can hear the sounds of centrifuges spinning out enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb.

Islamic Jihad got much needed PR from its “missile roulette” attacks. No Israeli was injured, so Israel could respond “proportionately” and hit unmanned terrorist posts and underground missile launchers without eliminating a few terrorists. The IDF has to retaliate so that Gaza terrorists would not get a message that they could extend their assault northwards towards Tel Aviv. They are saving that for a future war if it decides to commit suicide.

Lieberman notwithstanding, Israel cannot invade Gaza without nothing worse than malign neglect from its useless friends in the European Union, who as recently as today continue to blame Jerusalem for the perennial humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Islamic Jihad terrorists are a bunch of chickens. They did nothing but panic the residents of southern Israel, who are not as valuable to the Israeli government as the good citizens of Tel Aviv.

The IDF played chicken but did so out of strength, not weakness.

These chicken wars have taken place before and they will take place again.

The problem is that one day, one of those chickens is going to launch a missile that “misfires” and hits, God forbid, a hospital, kindergarten, shopping center or a family bedroom.

If that happens, the terrorists won’t be able to flee the subsequent invasion of Gaza because chickens can’t fly.

Israeli ground and aerial attacks targeted 29 terror sites in Gaza in a quick and widespread retaliation Wednesday night, hours after Islamic Jihad said it was behind a massive missile and mortar shelling barrage of Jewish communities near Gaza.

The retaliation came two hours after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, “If there is no quiet in Israel, there will be noise in Gaza, and that is an understatement.”

The IDF said that direct hits were confirmed in the artillery and aerial fire. IDF Spokesman Peter Lerner said that the barrage from Gaza towards sunset Wednesday involved 41 rockers, five of which exploded in populated areas and three of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system. No injuries were reported, and property damage was minimal.

It was the most serious retaliation for Gaza missile attacks since the Pillar of Defense counter terrorist camping in November 2012.

“This retaliation was precise and prompt. We targeted the infrastructure that serves the terrorists while they train, plan and implement their hideous attacks. They will not be permitted to conspire in the safety of their terrorist temples,” said Lt. Col. Lerner.

Islamic Jihad spokesman said that it unleashed the barrage in revenge for the Israeli Air Force’s bombing its terrorists, three of whom were killed in a strike on Tuesday following the shelling of Israeli soldiers on patrol near the Gaza security fence.

Regardless of whether the attacks were carried out with Hamas’ permission, it may help tighten the noose on Hamas.

The new Egyptian military regime has followed its ban of the Muslim Brotherhood bydeclaring an enemy.

The regime has destroyed hundreds of smuggling tunnels.

The Israeli Navy’s seizure last week of Iranian missiles destined for Gaza via Sudan exposed the Tehran-Gaza connection in capital letters.

Hamas has gone to the extreme to spit on the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whose peace plans, worthless anyway, are even more of a sick joke without Gaza.

The U.S. State Dept. not only stated on Wednesday that Israel has every right to retaliate to defend its citizens, it also did not come up with the usual nonsense of pleading for a “proportional response,” although a true proportional response would be to flatten Gaza.

The Egyptian siege on Gaza, which has included the frequent closure of the crossing at Rafiah, the southern Gaza smuggling capital that straddles the Egyptian-Gaza border, has taken the wind out of the sails of the anti-Israeli chorus that condemns an Israeli siege that does not exist, except on the seas. The Iranian arms ship was clear evidence and support for the maritime embargo.

Hamas has been losing control of Gaza for the past year or so. Rival terrorist organizations are competing with Hamas, whose weakness is symbolized by its public executions and imposition of Muslim law on residents. The Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency added, “Three other Palestinian militant groups also claimed to have participated in the attacks on Israel, including the National Resistance Brigades, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade.”

After Wednesday’s attacks on Israel, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for invading Gaza and taking control.

That would be too good a solution for Gaza’s residents, whose younger generation does not even remember the days of economic prosperity and peace and quiet of the 1970s and early 1980s when Israel officially controlled Gaza but in fact gave local officials a free hand to run their own affairs.

Hamas has a lot more sweating to do before Israel saves Gaza from its Hamas executors.

Israeli army tanks led the inevitable retaliation Wednesday night after Islamic Jihad terrorists staged a massive missile and mortar shell attack on the Western Negev, firing at least 30 rockets according to the IDF and more than 60 according to the Islamic Jihad.

The army said eight missiles exploded in urban areas and that the  exploded in open areas or within Gaza and caused no casualties. Property damage was minimal, but one woman broke her hip while running to a bomb shelter.

Artillery fire from tanks destroyed at least two terror targets in central Gaza and the Israeli Air Force bombed underground missile launchers ion an effort to bring immediate quiet to Western Negev residents, who has been ordered to stay in their homes after the barrage began towards sunset.

In anticipation of a strong reaction, Islamic Jihad and Hamas commanders have abandoned their offices and posts, and the Hamas Interior Ministry advised Gaza Arabs to remain in their homes.

7:31 PM FM Avigdor Liberman says Israel must reoccupy Gaza, and immediately retake Gaza.

7:29 PM Israel shooting back at Gaza.

7:19 PM: Islamic Jihad declares it will “break the silence”.

7:11 PM Over 70 rockets have been launched at Israel from Gaza. 30 landed within Israel. Two landed in populated areas. No injuries were reported, but there is minor damage.

—

Terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza attacked the Western Negev with 50 missiles and mortar shells late Wednesday afternoon, and the IDF downed several rockets with the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

No one was hurt and there have not yet been reports of any property damage, but not all of the explosion sites have been located yet.

The military orders residents in Sderot, Netivot and surrounding farming communities to remain in their homes.

The Islamic Jihad said it was behind the attacks, one day after the IDF eliminated three of its terrorists immediately following a mortar shell was fired on Israel soldier on patrol near the security fence at southern Gaza.

Three Hamas terrorists were killed on Tuesday in an explosion that was “all part of a day’s work” of preparing rockets and bombs for attacks on Israel.

The Hamas website reported that the “work accident” killed three members of the “military branch” of Hamas in Beit Hanoun, located in northern Gaza.

Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF killed three Islamic Jihad terrorists who attacked Israeli soldiers with a mortar shell. The soldiers were not injured.

The Israeli Air Force immediately retaliated for a mortar shell attack on soldiers near Gaza and bombed Islamic Jihad terror targets, reportedly killing three terrorists.

The casualties were reported by Islamic Jihad sources and have not been confirmed or denied by the IDF, but military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said, “Direct hits were confirmed” moments after the mortar shell attack. He added, “Rapid reaction and operational capabilities are key to combating terrorist activities against Israel and our forces. Terrorist must know that there is a price to pay when participating in aggression.”

The military holds Hamas, the de facto regime in Gaza, responsible for all terrorist attacks.

A spokesman for the Hamas-run Health Ministry told the French News Agency AFP, “Three martyrs have died in a Zionist strike east of Rafiah.”

The mortar shell attack was aimed at soldiers who were on routine patrol near the security fence in the areas of the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Earlier in the day, the IDF reported that one of its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) crashed in southern Gaza due to a technical malfunction.

The White House finally has come out with a statement condemning the ship carrying Iranian missiles destined for Gaza, but only after it took a couple of days to figure out how  to  censure the smuggling attempt without hinting that perhaps Iran cannot be trusted in talks on its nuclear development.

“It is important to make clear that even as we continue efforts to resolve our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy, we will continue, in coordination with our partners and allies, to push back against Iranian support for terrorism, threats against our friends and partners, and violations of human rights,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said at a press briefing Monday.

“We were very clear about our views on the ship that was interdicted and the fact that we condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s efforts to supply terrorist organizations operating in the region with weaponry,” Carney said. “We, the United States, strongly condemn this violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929.”

He stated, “We are not holding back at all in the steps we take and the views we hold about Iran’s continued support for terrorist organizations.

Since the Obama administration clearly states that Iran supports terror, the question remains, “Why does President Barack Obama negotiate with Tehran and not with Hamas, or North Korea?”

On Tuesday, March 4, an Egyptian court ordered the banning of Hamas work and activities in Egypt.  The case was brought by a contingent of Egyptian lawyers in 2013. The lawsuit sought the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization and the banning of Hamas in Egypt.

In the wake of the ruling, there are indications that the Egyptian government is taking action in preparation to revoke the citizenship of Egyptians who are members of Hamas.

Rumors about the revocation of citizenship for Egyptian members of Hamas have been circulating for several months, but Tuesday’s court decision gave the initiative an official governmental imprimatur.

The basis for the Egyptian court’s ruling was national security. There have been several major terrorist incidents in Egypt, in which Hamas and Hamas-affiliated Egyptians allegedly were involved.

Hamas is the Palestinian Arab offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the party of ousted Egyptian President Mohamad Morsi. During his presidential tenure, thousands of Palestinian Arabs, including Hamas leaders such as Mahmoud Zahar, were granted Egyptian citizenship.

Since Morsi’s ouster, Egyptian authorities have destroyed thousands of tunnels used for smuggling between Egypt and Gaza. This, of course, has served to undergird Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza which was imposed to prevent the smuggling into the Strip of weapons for use against the Jewish State.

The unsurprising response of Hamas spokespeople is that Egypt is aiding the “Zionist entity” by punishing those bent on Israel’s destruction.