Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group agreed to a Cairo-mediated cease-fire to take effect late on Sunday, both sides said, raising hopes of an end to the most serious flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year.
Israeli forces have pounded targets in Gaza since Friday, while the Iran-backed Islamic Jihad terrorist group has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response.
The truce came into effect at 23:30 (4:30 p.m. ET). It was announced in separate statements by Islamic Jihad and then Israel, who both thanked Egypt for mediating the cease-fire.
The three-day clashes have echoed preludes to previous Gaza wars, though they were relatively contained as Hamas, the ruling terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, had so far stayed out….