But rocket fire from the Strip targeting Sderot, Ashkelon and other local communities continued into the evening. The vast majority of missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, but there were a few sporadic reports of impacts near homes or industrial buildings. Several rockets were also fired towards Tel Aviv on Sunday night and were intercepted. Channel 12 reported that a missile was intercepted over Ben Gurion Airport, Israel’s main air hub, but this was denied by a spokesman for the Israel Airports Authority, who said air traffic was uninterrupted. A man was slightly injured by a rocket that hit an industrial zone in Ashkelon around 8pm. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Israel and PIJ both said the ceasefire would take effect at 11:30 p.m. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Several media reports in the afternoon, citing Egyptian sources, claimed the ceasefire would take effect at 8 p.m. However, as time ticked by, no ceasefire was announced, with Israeli networks airing unsourced reports that while Israel had agreed to a calm-for-calm plan, the PIJ was still reluctant, having failed to make significant gains. so far. A Palestinian man drives his cart near empty streets in Gaza City on August 7, 2022. (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) And Mohammed al-Hidi, a senior official with the group, said in a statement that it was “too early to talk about a timetable for a ceasefire”. The ceasefire was announced by PIJ officials at around 9pm, with Israeli officials confirming later. On the third day of Operation Breaking Dawn, Israel’s air assault against the PIJ, Lapid visited the headquarters of the IDF’s Southern Command for an assessment of the situation with IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi and other officials. He then continued to Sderot to meet with the heads of local authorities, including the mayors of Sderot and Ashkelon, as well as other municipal officials. Prime Minister Yair Lapid meets the leaders of the southern municipalities in Sderot, August 7, 2022, during the fighting in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (Haim Zach/GPO) According to multiple Jewish media reports, Lapid told the heads of local authorities that Israel had achieved its objectives in the three days of fighting and that there was no real benefit in continuing the operation. The IDF says that in the first two days of the operation, it eliminated PIJ’s military leaders in northern and southern Gaza, along with the deputy commander of southern Gaza and the commander of the terrorist group’s Rafah Brigade. He also killed the leader of the group’s anti-tank missile array. According to Channel 12, during a security cabinet meeting on Saturday night, Shin Bet chief Ronen Barr advised ministers to start wrapping up the operation before an “accident or mistake” by the military complicates the situation. The report, which cited three unnamed sources who were in the room, said most ministers agreed with that assessment. As of Sunday evening, the IDF reported that the PIJ had fired 935 rockets into Israel since Friday. Of these, 160 fell in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest figures, and about 300 were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system. Most others fell in open spaces. Southern cities were bombarded with volleys of rockets throughout the day. Local authorities said there were power outages in some towns due to another rocket hitting power lines in the area. In the morning, the PIJ fired rockets towards Jerusalem, but they fell short of the capital, setting off sirens in surrounding towns. An Israeli soldier takes cover as an Iron Dome air defense system is fired to intercept a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, August 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) The defense ministry said three mortars also hit the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza. The terminal’s roof was damaged as a result of the fire and debris fell into the entrance, the ministry said. No one was injured, as the crossing serving Palestinians crossing into Israel has been closed for days. Since Friday, Israel has carried out heavy air and artillery bombardment of Islamic Jihad positions in Gaza. Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said at least 41 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 11 children, and 311 people have been injured since Friday. Three Israelis were injured by shrapnel and others were forced to flee by rocket barrages fired from Gaza. Israel said many of the dead were PIJ terrorists. It said at least nine civilians, including several children, were killed by errant Palestinian rockets that hit homes in Gaza. Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said five more people were killed in Gaza. Military sources told Jewish media that the deaths may have been caused by another PIJ missile failure, although there was no immediate confirmation of this. On Sunday, the IDF said it hit 11 PIJ rocket launchers, two mortar launchers, among other locations across the Gaza Strip. The operation in Gaza began after several days of closures and lockdowns in Israeli communities near the Strip due to the alarm of an imminent attack, with the PIJ seeking to avenge the arrest of its leader in the West Bank last Monday. Israeli leaders and military officials said the operation was launched because Islamic Jihad had refused to back down from plans to attack Israeli targets near the border. Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report. You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with the must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. 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