GOV’T OFFICES IN GAZA PREPARE TO REOPEN AS CEASEFIRE HOLDS

Government offices in Gaza were set to resume their work on Sunday as a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the coastal strip held, a spokesman for the local government said.

Local government activities had ceased when Israeli airstrikes began on May 10 in response to rockets fired at Jerusalem. In Gaza, Islamist Hamas controls the administration, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The airstrikes targeted Hamas military infrastructure and also caused extensive destruction to residential and high-rise buildings, health facilities and other public buildings, bringing the daily life of the more than two million inhabitants of the impoverished coastal strip to a standstill.

A ceasefire has been in place since Friday, ending 11 days of Israeli air raids and Palestinian rocket fire that left more than 240 people dead in Gaza, including 66 minors, and claimed 12 lives in Israel. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza a further 1,910 people were injured.

The escalation followed clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces on Jerusalem's holy site known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council called for immediate assistance for the people of Gaza.

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