Israel, Hamas Both Claim Victory

Both Israel and Hamas are claiming victory now that a hastily assembled ceasefire has gone into effect. Senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said on Thursday that Israel’s “aim was to deter us. The resistance showed them. This deterrence has failed. Israel has failed in all of its goals.” But the Israeli military disputed this in a statement, saying that the campaign had “accomplished its pre-determined objectives,” devastating Hamas’s infrastructure and killing seven senior militants. In any case, the new truce is still fragile. Israeli media reported that several rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza after the ceasefire went into effect.