Israel and Hamas agree on cease fire following Friday’s escalation between the two

Israel and Hamas have agreed to restore calm in the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for Hamas said on Saturday, after the Israel Defense Forces launched a massive attack on the Gaza Strip late Friday evening, following an exchange of fire between Israeli troops and Palestinians in Gaza.

Four dead and 120 injured: this is the updated number of deaths and casualties according to local medical sources of the armed clashes that took place today along the border between Gaza and Israel.

The fourth killed was identified in Sharif Badwan, 27.

A dramatic appeal to all parties for the cessation of hostilities in Gaza was launched tonight by the UN emissary for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, with a message on twitter. “Everyone in Gaza must take a step back, before the catastophe,” he wrote.

“With Egyptian and United Nations efforts it has been agreed to return to the era of calm between [Israel] and Palestinian factions,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Reuters.

During Friday’s clashes, an Israeli soldier was killed by Palestinian gunmen along the Gaza border. The soldier’s family has been informed of his death. The soldier was the first to be killed on the Gaza front in active duty since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, an Israeli army spokesman said.