Nine months into the ground operation in Gaza, half of Hamas's military leadership has been eliminated, along with approximately 14,000 terrorists killed or apprehended, the Israel Defense Forces said in figures released on Tuesday.
Hamas, which has historically demanded Israel agree to a permanent cessation of hostilities as a precondition, is now open to begin negotiations on a temporary truce without this prior commitment.
Before the attacks, the IDF took precautionary measures and allowed civilians to evacuate the area in order to reduce as much as possible the harm to those not involved.
For several years, Wassam Abu Eshaq managed to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Gaza from the Egyptian Sinai through the Rafah border crossing or underground tunnels.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Wednesday night released a statement declaring its commitment to achieving the goals of the war in Gaza as defined by the government of Israel and that it has been working in this way "throughout the war day and night and will continue to do so."
The 50-million-shekel (USD 13.4 million) plan would see the purchase of 40 vans and 150 all-terrain vehicles to be deployed with volunteer firefighting teams.
The IDF said that the pause will take place between 8 am to 7 pm each day along a road from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah a-Din road, and then northward toward the Khan Younis area.
However, the decision awaits the endorsement of Slovenia's parliament, with a vote scheduled for Tuesday, as confirmed by parliament speaker Urska Klakocar Zupancic.