Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday defended a decision to halt fire on the Gaza Strip after Gaza's Hamas rulers agreed to an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire.
The deal halted several days of deadly fighting between the two sides.
"Our enemies begged for a cease-fire and they know why," Netanyahu said.
Some in Netanyahu's government and others in Israel criticized the move, instead preferring Israeli forces more forcefully respond to Hamas.
Militants in Gaza fired 460 rockets and mortars into Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes from Israel against 160 targets in Gaza.
The clashes left five Palestinian militants and two others dead. One Israeli was killed by a rocket strike, while three others were wounded.
The latest violence followed an unsuccessful Israeli raid Sunday in Gaza that left one Israeli officer and seven Palestinians dead.
U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov called for all the parties to show restraint and "reverse the spiral of violence."
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