JERUSALEM | Gaza’s Hamas rulers said late Thursday that a truce had been reached with Israel, ending an intense two-day burst of violence that had pushed the region closer to war. But the deal did not appear to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease-fire arrangement.

Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV channel reported late Thursday that the Egyptian-brokered deal has taken hold “on the basis of mutual calm.” It said the deal was mediated by Egypt and other unidentified regional players.

A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the agreement merely ended the latest round of violence, in which Gaza militants fired some 200 rockets at Israel and the Israeli military carried out a similar number of airstrikes in Gaza. He said Egypt, which often serves as a mediator between the sides, would continue the more difficult task of brokering a long-term cease-fire.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, denied a deal had been reached. But early Friday, the situation in Gaza appeared quiet.

The Hamas announcement came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet ordered the army to take unspecified “strong action” against Gaza militants as the military reinforced units along the border.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. In this week’s fighting, the Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her 1-year-old daughter and a Hamas militant, were killed in separate airstrikes. Israeli officials said seven people were wounded by rocket or mortar fire on the Israeli side.

At times, Thursday’s fighting resembled the 2014 war. In Israel, air raid sirens warning of incoming rocket fire wailed in southern Israel overnight and throughout the day, sending families scrambling into bomb shelters, canceling outdoor summer cultural events and forcing summer camps indoors. The Israeli air force, meanwhile, pounded targets across Gaza.

A Palestinian rocket struck the southern city of Beersheba late in the afternoon, landing in an open area. It was the first time a rocket had hit the city since the 2014 war.

Shortly after, an Israeli airstrike flattened the five-story cultural center in the Shati refugee camp, a crowded neighborhood of Gaza City. The airstrike set off a powerful explosion and sent a huge plume of black smoke into the air, causing crowds to scream in panic. Medical officials said at least seven bystanders were wounded.

The building is home to a popular theater and exhibits plays and other shows on a daily basis. An Egyptian-Palestinian cultural society also has an office in the building.

“The deliberate targeting of a cultural center with airstrikes and destruction … is a barbaric act,” said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman. He said the destruction of the Egyptian cultural office was “an Israeli attempt to sabotage” the Egyptian cease-fire efforts.

The Israeli military said the building served as a Palestinian military installation. Hamas’ Interior Ministry, including its secret police, has offices in an adjacent site, but those offices were not hit.

Despite the animosity, the enemies have signaled, through their contacts with Egypt, that they want to avoid another war. Reaching a deal, however, will likely require major concession on both sides.

Hamas is demanding the lifting of an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade that has devastated Gaza’s economy, while Israel wants an end to rocket fire, as well as recent border protests and launches of incendiary balloons, and the return of the remains of two dead soldiers and two Israelis believed to be alive and held by Hamas.

Israel is believed to be offering an easing, but not an end, to the blockade.

Gaza’s Health Ministry identified those killed in the airstrikes as 23-year-old Enas Khamash and her daughter Bayan, as well as a Hamas fighter, Ali Ghandour.

Kamal Khamash, the woman’s brother-in-law, said the family was asleep when the projectile hit the house, and that her husband had been critically wounded. “This is a blatant crime and Israel is responsible for it,” he said.

In southern Israel, two Thai laborers were among the seven wounded, and rockets damaged buildings in the cities of Sderot and Ashkelon. The military said it intercepted some 30 rockets, while most of the others landed in open areas.

At the United Nations, Israel’s ambassador, Danny Danon, urged the secretary-general and U.N. Security Council to condemn Hamas militants for what he called “the unprovoked terrorist attack” on southern Israel.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said U.S. officials were concerned by the situation in Gaza.

“Overall, we condemn the launching of missile attacks into Israel, and call for an end to the destructive violence. We’ve seen reports that 180 or so rocket attacks have taken place, shot from Gaza into Israel, and we fully support Israel’s right to defend itself, and to take actions to prevent provocations of that nature,” Nauert said.

Tension along the Israel-Gaza border has escalated since late March, when Hamas launched what have become regular mass protests along Israel’s perimeter fence with Gaza. The protests have been aimed in part at trying to break the blockade.

Israel and Hamas have engaged in several bouts of fighting over the past month. The latest round erupted Tuesday, when the Israeli military struck a Hamas military post in Gaza after it said militants fired on Israeli troops on the border. Hamas said two of its fighters were killed after taking part in a gunfire parade inside a militant camp.

Hamas officials said the group waited a day to retaliate until a group of senior leaders visiting from abroad had left the territory. The delegation was in Gaza to discuss the cease-fire efforts with local leaders.

Over the past four months, 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 120 protesters, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this period.

Israel says it has been defending its sovereign border against infiltration attempts by Hamas. But it has come under heavy international criticism for its frequent use of force against unarmed protesters.

Associated Press writers Mohammad Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, and Fares Akram in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.</s>A Palestinian militant of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) fires a mortar shell during a military exercise in front of the media, on beach in the southern Gaza Strip (REUTERS)

Gaza's militant Islamic Hamas rulers and Israel appeared to be honoring a cease fire Friday that ended two days of an intense flare up in violence amid efforts by neighboring Egypt to negotiate between the two sides.

Israel's military said that no rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel overnight and it conducted no airstrikes in Gaza against Hamas targets. Israel's government hasn't confirmed the truce.Egyptian brokered deal has taken hold "on the basis of mutual calm."

It was the third such truce in recent weeks. However, the deal did not seem to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease fire arrangement. Gaza militants fired some 200 rockets at Israel and the Israeli military carried out a similar number of airstrikes in Gaza in this latest round of violence. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

In this week's fighting, the Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians were killed. Israeli officials said seven people were wounded by rocket or mortar fire on the Israeli side. Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza's border.

Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza.

Large turnout at the protests has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky rocketed and poverty is widening.

Israel has also been battling almost daily airborne arson attacks from Gaza caused by kites and balloons rigged with incendiary devices flown across the border that have sparked large fires that destroyed forests, burned crops and killed wildlife and livestock.

Over the past four months, 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 120 protesters, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group.

An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this same period. Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers.

Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.</s>The Hamas militant group has said a ceasefire has been reached to end the latest round of fighting with Israel.

The Hamas militant group has said a ceasefire has been reached to end the latest round of fighting with Israel.

Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV channel reported late on Thursday that a ceasefire has taken hold “on the basis of mutual calm”. It said the deal was mediated by Egypt and other regional players.

A senior Hamas official said the deal would formally go into effect at midnight.

He said the agreement merely ends the latest two-day burst of violence between Israel and Hamas.

He said Egypt would continue efforts to broker a long-term ceasefire. Hamas wants an end to a decade-long Israeli-Egyptian border blockade as a condition for any long-term deal.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied a deal had been reached. But early on Friday, the situation in Gaza appeared quiet.

The Hamas announcement came shortly after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet ordered the army to take unspecified “strong action” against Gaza militants as the military reinforced units along the border.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. In this week’s fighting, the Palestinian health ministry said three Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her one-year-old daughter, and a Hamas militant, were killed in separate airstrikes. Israeli officials said seven people were wounded by rocket or mortar fire on the Israeli side.

Air raid sirens warning of incoming rocket fire wailed in southern Israel overnight and throughout the day, sending families scrambling into bomb shelters, cancelling outdoor summer cultural events and forcing summer camps indoors. The Israeli air force, meanwhile, attacked targets across Gaza.

A Palestinian rocket struck the southern city of Beersheba late in the afternoon, landing in an open area. It was the first time a rocket had hit the city since the 2014 war.

Shortly after, an Israeli airstrike flattened the five-story cultural centre in the Shati refugee camp, a crowded district of Gaza City. The airstrike set off a powerful explosion and sent a huge plume of black smoke into the air, causing crowds to scream in panic. Medical officials said at least seven bystanders were wounded.

The building is home to a popular theatre and exhibits plays and other shows on a daily basis. An Egyptian-Palestinian cultural society also has an office in the building.

“The deliberate targeting of a cultural centre with airstrikes and destruction… is a barbaric act,” said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman. He said the destruction of the Egyptian cultural office was “an Israeli attempt to sabotage” the Egyptian ceasefire efforts.

The Israeli military said the building served as a Palestinian military installation. Hamas’ interior ministry, including its secret police, has offices in an adjacent site, but those offices were not hit.

Despite the animosity, the enemies have signalled, through their contacts with Egypt, that they want to avoid another war. Reaching a deal, however, will likely require major concession on both sides.

Hamas is demanding the lifting of an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade that has devastated Gaza’s economy, while Israel wants an end to rocket fire, as well as recent border protests and launches of incendiary balloons, and the return of the remains of two dead soldiers and two Israelis believed to be alive and held by Hamas.</s>JERUSALEM: Gaza's militant Islamic Hamas rulers and Israel appeared to be honoring a cease-fire Friday that ended two days of an intense flare-up in violence amid efforts by neighboring Egypt to negotiate between the two sides.

Israel's military said that no rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel overnight and it conducted no airstrikes in Gaza against Hamas targets. Israel's government hasn't confirmed the truce.

On Friday evening, however, a Palestinian paramedic was shot and killed by Israeli fire at a Hamas-led protest along the border, Gaza's Health Ministry said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment and it was not immediately clear whether protests at the border were included in cease-fire negotiations.

Hamas' Al Aqsa TV channel reported late Thursday that the Egyptian-brokered deal took hold "on the basis of mutual calm." It was the third such truce in recent weeks.

But the deal did not seem to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease-fire arrangement.

Gaza militants fired some 200 rockets at Israel and the Israeli military carried out a similar number of airstrikes in Gaza in this latest round of violence.

Also on Friday, the Israeli military lifted restrictive recommendations for residents of some areas in southern Israel that it had set amid the Palestinian bombing, including suggestions to avoid open areas and beaches. "Following a security assessment," residents can resume their daily routine, the military said.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. In this week's fighting, the Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians were killed. Israeli officials said seven people were wounded by rocket or mortar fire on the Israeli side.

Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza's border.

Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. Large turnout at the protests has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening.

Gaza's Health Ministry said Abdullah al-Qutati, 26, was shot and killed and 40 others were wounded by live fire as thousands protested at the border Friday evening.

Another paramedic, Mohammed Suhwail, told The Associated Press he witnessed the shooting. He said after treating wounded al-Qutati " began walking toward the (field hospital) but was shot in the back and the bullet existed from his chest."

Israel has also been battling almost daily airborne arson attacks from Gaza caused by kites and balloons rigged with incendiary devices flown across the border that have sparked large fires that destroyed forests, burned crops and killed wildlife and livestock.

Over the past four months, 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 120 protesters, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this same period.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.</s>Hamas, the Palestinian group which controls the Gaza Strip, has told Al Jazeera a truce has been agreed to stop the violence.

But Israeli media is suggesting the Israeli government has denied that an agreement has been reached.

A flare up in cross-border violence has seen three Palestinians killed in Israeli air raids, and Hamas rockets fired into southern Israel.</s>JERUSALEM — After a lull in the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hamas on Thursday, militants in Gaza fired a rocket toward the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, a major population center about 25 miles away, for the first time since the last war in 2014.

In response, Israeli missiles flattened a five-story building in western Gaza City, injuring 18 people, according to Gaza health officials. Israel said the building was used by Hamas’s security forces for military purposes. The Palestinians said it was a center for the arts, housing a theater and a library, as well as an office serving Egyptians residing in Gaza.

The sharp blows left many wondering if these were the final shots ushering in a new, if fragile, cease-fire, or the opening shots of the next war.

Officials in Gaza said late Thursday that a cease-fire brokered by Egypt and the United Nations envoy to the region, Nickolay Mladenov, would begin at midnight. They described it as a limited understanding of “calm for calm.” But it was not likely to be any more stable than the cease-fires that came before.</s>The Hamas militant group has said a ceasefire has been reached to end the latest round of fighting with Israel.

The Hamas militant group has said a ceasefire has been reached to end the latest round of fighting with Israel.

Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV channel reported late on Thursday that a ceasefire has taken hold “on the basis of mutual calm”. It said the deal was mediated by Egypt and other regional players.

A senior Hamas official said the deal would formally go into effect at midnight.

He said the agreement merely ends the latest two-day burst of violence between Israel and Hamas.

He said Egypt would continue efforts to broker a long-term ceasefire. Hamas wants an end to a decade-long Israeli-Egyptian border blockade as a condition for any long-term deal.

There was no immediate Israeli comment.</s>JERUSALEM -- Gaza's Hamas rulers said late Thursday that a truce had been reached with Israel, ending an intense two-day burst of violence that had pushed the region closer to war. But the deal did not appear to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease-fire arrangement.

Hamas' Al Aqsa TV channel reported late Thursday that the Egyptian-brokered deal has taken hold "on the basis of mutual calm." It said the deal was mediated by Egypt and other unidentified regional players.

A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the agreement merely ended the latest round of violence, in which Gaza militants fired some 200 rockets at Israel and the Israeli military carried out a similar number of airstrikes in Gaza. He said Egypt, which often serves as a mediator between the sides, would continue the more difficult task of brokering a long-term cease-fire.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, denied a deal had been reached. But early Friday, the situation in Gaza appeared quiet.

The Hamas announcement came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet ordered the army to take unspecified "strong action" against Gaza militants as the military reinforced units along the border.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. In this week's fighting, the Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her 1-year-old daughter and a Hamas militant, were killed in separate airstrikes. Israeli officials said seven people were wounded by rocket or mortar fire on the Israeli side.

At times, Thursday's fighting resembled the 2014 war. In Israel, air raid sirens warning of incoming rocket fire wailed in southern Israel overnight and throughout the day, sending families scrambling into bomb shelters, cancelling outdoor summer cultural events and forcing summer camps indoors. The Israeli air force, meanwhile, pounded targets across Gaza.

A Palestinian rocket struck the southern city of Beersheba late in the afternoon, landing in an open area. It was the first time a rocket had hit the city since the 2014 war.

Shortly after, an Israeli airstrike flattened the five-story cultural centre in the Shati refugee camp, a crowded neighbourhood of Gaza City. The airstrike set off a powerful explosion and sent a huge plume of black smoke into the air, causing crowds to scream in panic. Medical officials said at least seven bystanders were wounded.

The building is home to a popular theatre and exhibits plays and other shows on a daily basis. An Egyptian-Palestinian cultural society also has an office in the building.

"The deliberate targeting of a cultural centre with airstrikes and destruction ... is a barbaric act," said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman. He said the destruction of the Egyptian cultural office was "an Israeli attempt to sabotage" the Egyptian cease-fire efforts.

The Israeli military said the building served as a Palestinian military installation. Hamas' Interior Ministry, including its secret police, has offices in an adjacent site, but those offices were not hit.

Despite the animosity, the enemies have signalled, through their contacts with Egypt, that they want to avoid another war. Reaching a deal, however, will likely require major concession on both sides.

Hamas is demanding the lifting of an Israeli-Egyptian border blockade that has devastated Gaza's economy, while Israel wants an end to rocket fire, as well as recent border protests and launches of incendiary balloons, and the return of the remains of two dead soldiers and two Israelis believed to be alive and held by Hamas.

Israel is believed to be offering an easing, but not an end, to the blockade.

Gaza's Health Ministry identified those killed in the airstrikes as 23-year-old Enas Khamash and her daughter Bayan, as well as a Hamas fighter, Ali Ghandour.

Kamal Khamash, the woman's brother-in-law, said the family was asleep when the projectile hit the house, and that her husband had been critically wounded. "This is a blatant crime and Israel is responsible for it," he said.

In southern Israel, two Thai labourers were among the seven wounded, and rockets damaged buildings in the cities of Sderot and Ashkelon. The military said it intercepted some 30 rockets, while most of the others landed in open areas.

At the United Nations, Israel's ambassador, Danny Danon, urged the secretary-general and U.N. Security Council to condemn Hamas militants for what he called "the unprovoked terrorist attack" on southern Israel.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said U.S. officials were concerned by the situation in Gaza.

"Overall, we condemn the launching of missile attacks into Israel, and call for an end to the destructive violence. We've seen reports that 180 or so rocket attacks have taken place, shot from Gaza into Israel, and we fully support Israel's right to defend itself, and to take actions to prevent provocations of that nature," Nauert said.

Tension along the Israel-Gaza border has escalated since late March, when Hamas launched what have become regular mass protests along Israel's perimeter fence with Gaza. The protests have been aimed in part at trying to break the blockade.

Israel and Hamas have engaged in several bouts of fighting over the past month. The latest round erupted Tuesday, when the Israeli military struck a Hamas military post in Gaza after it said militants fired on Israeli troops on the border. Hamas said two of its fighters were killed after taking part in a gunfire parade inside a militant camp.

Hamas officials said the group waited a day to retaliate until a group of senior leaders visiting from abroad had left the territory. The delegation was in Gaza to discuss the cease-fire efforts with local leaders.

Over the past four months, 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 120 protesters, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this period.

Israel says it has been defending its sovereign border against infiltration attempts by Hamas. But it has come under heavy international criticism for its frequent use of force against unarmed protesters.

Associated Press writers Mohammad Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, and Fares Akram in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.</s>Gaza's militant Islamic Hamas rulers and Israel appeared to be honoring a cease-fire Friday that ended two days of an intense flare-up in violence amid efforts by neighboring Egypt to negotiate between the two sides.

Israel's military said that no rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel overnight and it conducted no airstrikes in Gaza against Hamas targets. Israel's government hasn't confirmed the truce.

Hamas' Al Aqsa TV channel reported late Thursday that the Egyptian-brokered deal has taken hold "on the basis of mutual calm." It was the third such truce in recent weeks.

However, the deal did not seem to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease-fire arrangement.

Gaza militants fired some 200 rockets at Israel and the Israeli military carried out a similar number of airstrikes in Gaza in this latest round of violence.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. In this week's fighting, the Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians were killed. Israeli officials said seven people were wounded by rocket or mortar fire on the Israeli side.

Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza's border.

Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza. Large turnout at the protests has also been driven by widespread desperation in Gaza, amid worsening conditions linked to the blockade. Power is on for just a few hours a day, unemployment has sky-rocketed and poverty is widening.

Israel has also been battling almost daily airborne arson attacks from Gaza caused by kites and balloons rigged with incendiary devices flown across the border that have sparked large fires that destroyed forests, burned crops and killed wildlife and livestock.

Over the past four months, 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including at least 120 protesters, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and a local rights group. An Israeli soldier was killed by a Gaza sniper during this same period.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas, a group sworn to its destruction, of using the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers. Palestinians have thrown explosive devices and opened fire at forces along the border in numerous instances over the past few months, the military says. But the high casualty rate among mainly unarmed protesters has drawn international criticism.</s>JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers and Israel appear to be honoring a cease-fire that ended two days of an intense flare-up in violence amid efforts by neighboring Egypt to negotiate between the two sides.

Israel’s military said on Friday that no rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel overnight and it conducted no airstrikes. Israel’s government hasn’t confirmed the truce.

Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV reported late Thursday that an Egypt-brokered deal had taken hold “on the basis of mutual calm.”

Israel and Hamas have come close to serious conflict in recent weeks after four months of violence along Gaza’s border following Hamas-organized protests there.

At least 163 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 120 protesters, since then. During that time, a Gaza sniper killed an Israeli soldier.
Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV reports that a cease-fire is reached to end the latest round of fighting with Israel.