Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the bombardment of Palestinian militants in Gaza as an “exceptional success” on Friday, AFP reported. This statement by the Israeli PM  came after a ceasefire to end the deadly conflict took effect.

Israel and the Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, agreed to a ceasefire on Thursday ending the 11-day conflict. The decision came after heavy US pressure to halt the offensive.

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“We achieved our goals in the operation,” Netanyahu said, describing the campaign against Hamas and Islamic Jihad as “an exceptional success.”

PM Netanyahu’s office – announcing the ceasefire – said that the security cabinet had “unanimously accepted the recommendations to accept an Egyptian initiative for an unconditional… ceasefire.”

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Hamas and Islamic Jihad then confirmed the ceasefire in a statement, saying it would come into force at 2:00 AM IST on Friday.

Since the start of the fighting on May 10, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes that according to the government were solely targeting Hamas’ infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network.