The Islamic militant group, which rules Gaza, said Israel “will pay a heavy price” for the explosion on Saturday night.

Gaza media initially reported the blast as a “work accident,” implying the militants were killed while producing or handling explosives.

But Hamas now says the militants, including two commanders, were killed “dismantling booby-trapped spying equipment planted by Israel during the past decade in Gaza”. It did not elaborate or provide any evidence.</s>"Hamas in recent months has repeatedly expressed its willingness to begin negotiations with Israel through some channels on a long-term agreement on truce in the Gaza Strip," the media said.

According to the newspaper, high-ranking Israeli security officials have recently handed over intelligence data to the Israeli authorities, which proves that Hamas is open to dialogue on the issues it refused to discuss in the past, since the movement is currently in an "unprecedented crisis."

The media went on explaining that "there has been a deep split in the Hamas movement as it was looking for a way out of the desperate situation in the Gaza Strip, which suffers economic crisis, sanctions from the Palestinian National Authority, pressure over the Israeli-Egyptian blockade as well as growing internal unrest."

This is not the first media report on problems and disagreements within the movement. Earlier, the newspaper Israel Hayoom said that in the Hamas leadership there were disputes whether to accept Egypt's offer to suspend "March of Return" protests which have been staged in Gaza on the border with Israel since late March.

Demonstrations on the Palestinian-Israeli border have been continuing for the sixth consecutive week already. According to representatives of the Gaza health ministry, more than 430 Palestinians got injuries, whereas 48 protesters were killed.

Israel and Egypt established a blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2007, when the Hamas movement took control of the Gaza Strip. Last year, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas took a number of measures against the Gaza border region, including the suspension of payments to Israel for electricity and cut salaries for thousands of civil servants.</s>JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hamas leaders in Gaza have sent messages to Israel through various channels in recent months offering to negotiate a long-term cease-fire.

According to a report Monday in the Israeli daily Haaretz, Hamas wants to tie the cease-fire to an easing of the blockade on Gaza, a green light for large-scale infrastructure projects and a prisoner exchange.

Israel has “not responded clearly” to the messages, according to Haaretz.

Hamas reportedly is more open to discussing such a cease-fire since it is in “dire and unprecedented strategic distress,” the report said. In addition, reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority remain frozen in the wake of an assassination attempt in March on P.A. Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah during his visit to Gaza.

Hamas has called on Gaza Palestinian demonstrators to continue to protest at the Gaza border as part of the March of Return protests, and has vowed that the protests will continue past what was supposed to be the end date, May 14, the date on the Gregorian calendar that marks Israel’s 70th birthday and which the Arab world calls the Nakba, or catastrophe. The Palestinian Authority also is planning a large demonstration on that day in Ramallah in the West Bank, the seat of the P.A. government.

The Israeli military estimates that 70 percent of the 48 Gaza Palestinians killed in the current protests are connected to Hamas or the military wings of other terror organizations in Gaza, according to Haaretz.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The militant Islamic group Hamas that rules Gaza says six of its members have been killed in an explosion.

It says the blast occurred Saturday night in the central Gaza Strip.

Gaza media reported the explosion was a "work accident," meaning the militants were killed when explosives they were dealing with went off.

Earlier, a group of Palestinians breached the border fence with Israel and briefly entered its territory.

It came a day after Palestinians staged a sixth weekly mass protest on the border.

The protests are part of a campaign organized by Hamas that is aimed in part at breaking a decade-old blockade imposed since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

Since late March, 40 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire.</s>Hamas leaders in Gaza have sent messages to Israel through various channels in recent months offering to negotiate a long-term ceasefire.



According to a report in the Israeli daily Haaretz on Monday, Hamas wants to tie the cease-fire to an easing of the blockade on Gaza, a green light for large-scale infrastructure projects and a prisoner exchange.





Israel has “not responded clearly” to the messages, according to Haaretz.Hamas reportedly is more open to discussing such a cease-fire since it is in “dire and unprecedented strategic distress,” the report said. In addition, reconciliation efforts between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority remain frozen in the wake of an assassination attempt in March on PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah during his visit to Gaza.PA's Hamdallah safe after explosion near convoy in Gaza, March 13, 2018 (Reuters) Hamas has called on Gazan Palestinian demonstrators to continue to protest at the border with Gaza as part of the March of Return protests, and has vowed that the protests will continue past what was supposed to be the end date, May 14, the date on the Gregorian calendar that marks Israel’s 70th birthday, and which the Arab world calls The Nakba, or The Catastrophe. The Palestinian Authority also is planning a large demonstration on that day in Ramallah in the West Bank, the seat of government of the PA.The Israel Defense Forces estimates that 70 percent of the 48 Gazan Palestinians killed in the current protests are connected to Hamas or the military wings of other terror organizations in Gaza, according to Haaretz.</s>REPORT: HAMAS LEADERS IN GAZA HAVE OFFERED LONG-TERM CEASEFIRE TO ISRAEL

Hamas wants to tie the cease-fire to an easing of the blockade on Gaza, a green light for large-scale infrastructure projects and a prisoner exchange.</s>Relatives of Tahreer Wahba, 17, who died of wounds he sustained during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border, mourn during his funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, April 23, 2018.

Reports of Hamas’ willingness to enter negotiations with Israel over a long-term cease-fire and an exchange of prisoners have so far not yielded any official response by Hamas or Israel. If there is any substance to these reports, they may attest to the existence of a diplomatic channel having the potential to manage the crisis in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas are locked in a violent confrontation, expressed in recent weeks as a series of demonstrations held on the Gazan border, probably peaking in the coming week. Beyond Hamas’ intention of marking 70 years since the Palestinian Nakba, or catastrophe, the current confrontation has resulted from the dire economic situation in the Gaza Strip, and from what seems like Israel’s and the international community’s indifference to the terrible suffering of 2 million Gazan residents.

>> Israeli reluctance to discuss Hamas truce could blow up on Nakba Day | Analysis >>

Israel cannot neutralize the symbolism of these demonstrations but it can and must dispel their root cause. The IDF warned for months of the anticipated results of the economic crisis and encouraged the government to implement a significant easing of the closure that has been imposed on Gaza for the last 11 years. It’s not only security challenges that require the resolution of this crisis. Even though the chief of staff rejects defining the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis, there is no other way of describing the struggles of residents who cannot live normal lives and support themselves. The efficacy of the closure from a security perspective is questionable, given the periodic fighting the IDF has been engaged in over the years while the closure has been in place. The secondary goal of the closure – toppling the Hamas government through a civil uprising – has not been attained either.

Israel cannot rely on the apathy of Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, or emulate the policy embraced by Egypt, to justify its conduct in Gaza. The problem is on Israel’s border and the unrest will continue as long as there is no significant improvement. The international community also regards Israel as directly responsible for the situation in Gaza even though it does recognize its security needs. Thus, Israel is required to initiate steps that relieve Gaza’s residents of their status as despairing, totally impoverished hostages.

Steps taken in coordination with Hamas do not require paying any political price such as withdrawing from territories, or recognition of Hamas’ status as a representative of the Palestinian people. At the same time, Israel sees Hamas as responsible for anything taking place in Gaza and is willing to indirectly negotiate with the organization about exchanging bodies. It does not object to Egyptian attempts to bring about inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

It is now time to examine the possibility of managing the crisis in Gaza together with Hamas, and abandoning the failed policy that has not released Israel from the burden of being Gaza’s de facto ruler.

The above article is Haaretz’s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.</s>GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A Hamas official says the militant group hopes to mobilize a large turnout for next week's Gaza border protests, the highlight of a campaign to break a decade-old blockade of the territory.

Ghazi Hamad said Tuesday that "there are many tools" to encourage participation, including making phone calls and offering more bus shuttles.

Weekly border protests began March 30 and are to culminate in two days of mass demonstrations next week. One, on Tuesday, marks the uprooting of Palestinians during the 1948 war over Israel's creation.

Hamas has sent mixed signals about a possible border breach.

Hamad says protests will continue "as a long-term strategy," saying it is "less expensive" than going into a military confrontation with Israel.

Forty protesters have been killed by Israeli fire.</s>Palestinians Claim Men Killed in Gaza Blast Were Senior Hamas Militants Who Thwarted Israeli Intel Plan

Arab media reports an increase in security operations in the Strip amid heightened concerns that Hamas officials will be targeted
Hamas has offered Israel a longterm ceasefire including prisoner exchanges, in return for reductions to the Gaza blockade, and infrastructural improvement.