Israel, Palestinians reach cease-fire agreement

"We congratulate our people and our resistance for reaching the cease-fire agreement that put an end to the Israeli aggression," said Ahmed Bahar, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, in a press statement emailed to reporters.

However, many people are still anxiously watching the fragile situation in the region. For example, two rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli border on Wednesday evening, with one fell short in the Lebanese territories. The incident comes two days after two rockets were found in southern Lebanon which were ready to be fired against Israel.

In a bid to end the escalating deadly conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon arrived in Egypt on Monday to discuss the latest developments with senior Egyptian officials, then left for Israel and Ramallah on Tuesday, and went back to Cairo on Wednesday afternoon.

Ban praised on Wednesday the efforts of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in mediating the cease-fire agreement. "I support Morsi's efforts in the cease-fire agreement," he said, adding that he had discussed with Morsi the bus explosion in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, expressing his condemnation for such attacks against civilians.

"The military ways will necessarily lead to more misery, so we urge the need for an immediate fire-ceasing," Ban said.

Ban stressed the necessity of delivering humanitarian aids to Gaza, adding that the United Nations will do its best in this regard.

Both Israeli and Palestinian news outlets reported upon the main issues of the cease-fire agreement, among which are the ending of all hostilities by both sides.

On the Israeli side, Israel reportedly agreed to stop its military actions on air, land and sea, including targeted killings.

The Palestinians, on their part, will stop launching missiles towards Israeli territory as well as attacks against soldiers across the border.

Both sides have also reported that Israel will let people and goods pass more freely at the passages on the Gaza Strip border. The directives about the blockade on the Gaza Strip will be determined in the upcoming days, according to the reports.

As for the implementation part, the agreement stated that Egypt shall obtain guarantees from all parties to ensure their commitment, adding that if any of the parties has notifications, Egypt as the sponsor of the understandings shall be noted to follow up.

During the eight days of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip, about 1,500 missiles were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, 420 of which intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missiles batteries.

The rockets were launched towards southern communities, as well as the central city of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other areas that have not been as of yet in the line of fire during the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The Israeli Air Force struck around 1,500 targets in the Gaza Strip, including chief militants (starting with the chief of Hamas ' military wing, Ahmed Jabri), missiles arsenals, smuggling tunnels and lunch pads.

However, civilians were also hurt during the attacks. The Palestinians put the death toll at 158, with 1200 wounded, among whom dozens of children.

In Israel, five Israelis lost their lives, including four civilians and one soldier. Several soldiers suffered mediocre or serious wounds from direct rocket hits near the Gaza Border.

For the first time in a decade, a bomb exploded on a bus in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, injuring at least 13 people. Five people were still at hospital as of Wednesday evening, two suffer mediocre injuries and two light injuries.

The police have arrested one suspect they believe is connected to the incident and are continuing their inspection in the premises.

The improvised small bomb was thrown apparently through the back door of the bus from the street. The bombing took place on a busy boulevard, Shaul Hamelech, not far from the Defense Ministry headquarters and a major shopping center as well as office complex.

No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. However, according to several reports, the Hamas TV channel said a suicide bombing might occur within Israeli territory on Wednesday.