A cease-fire between Israeli and Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip went into effect early Sunday morning after an agreement was reached by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud 'Abbas. 'Abbas was able to obtain consent from all of the Palestinian factions to abide by the cease-fire – including a halt to the firing of Qassam rockets – but notably absent from the deal was any reference to captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, whose kidnapping on June 25 triggered major Israeli offensives in Gaza. Olmert had said many times that there cannot be a deal without Shalit's release. Palestinian sources did say over the weekend that Israel had agreed to its demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit. As of press time, the cease-fire appeared to be holding although Israel Radio reported that at least four Qassams had landed in Israel shortly after the cease-fire began.