Nation readies assistance for Palestine

11 days of deadly fighting

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to hold on Friday after 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the Palestinian enclave and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.

Gaza City began the day quietly under a cover of fluffy clouds, with only a thin column of smoke wafting into the skies after Israeli airstrikes came to a halt, Agence France-Presse reported.

Celebrations were heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air, while in the occupied West Bank, joyful crowds also took to the streets.

With no alerts sounding in Israel to warn of incoming Hamas rockets, calm reigned across much of the Jewish state.

Residents on both sides of the conflict voiced relief that a ceasefire had taken effect.

"It's a good decision to be honest with you because people from both sides are done with what's going on," said Amwrah Dana, a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem.

In Tel Aviv, Avital Fast said he wanted to be optimistic about the cease-fire. "I really hope that it will remain because the only thing that we want here is to live our life without any alarms or fire," Fast said.

The truce brokered by Egypt -that also included Gaza's second-most powerful armed group, Islamic Jihad－was agreed following mounting international pressure to stem the bloodshed which erupted on May 10. Hamas and Islamic Jihad also confirmed the cease-fire in statements.

However, fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police officers broke out at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Agence France-Presse reported.