DUBAI: Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Kingdom welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, state news agency BNA reported on Friday.

The ministry lauded the efforts of Egypt to lead the negotiations to “stop the bloodshed and end military operations in the Gaza Strip,” the report added.

The ministry also said it was important to continue the international efforts to resolve the issue and work towards the two-state solution to establish lasting peace, BNA said.

A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the militia which controls the Gaza Strip, came into force early Friday after 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the Palestinian enclave and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.

Celebrations were heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air, AFP journalists said, while in the occupied West Bank, joyful crowds also took to the streets.

With no alerts sounding in Israel to warn of incoming Hamas rockets, the cease-fire appeared to be holding in the early hours of Friday.

The truce brokered by Egypt, that also included Gaza’s second-most powerful armed group, Islamic Jihad, was agreed following mounting international pressure to stem the bloodshed which erupted on May 10.

(with wires)