Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement ^[1] in Cairo today, bringing to a halt Operation Pillar of Defense. The ceasefire ends eight days of fighting in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel sent a strong message to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip by using military force in response to rocket attacks. Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire to bring about “a long lasting truce.”

Heritage’s James Jay Carafano, director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies as well as deputy director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, spoke to World Review ^[2] about challenges facing the region, particularly with a nuclear-armed Iran.