Israeli missile strikes hit a succession of militant targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing two, while Hamas fired more rockets toward Israel. Palestinian factions met to discuss a possible truce with Israel.
Israel's air force pounded the Gaza Strip early on Saturday hours after the Islamist group and other militants signaled softer terms for ending cross-border rocket salvoes.
Palestinian militant groups behind rocket attacks on Israel signaled softer terms for a truce on Friday, but Israel renewed strikes on Gaza targets, including a guardhouse outside the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Palestinian factions behind rocket attacks on Israel signaled softer terms for a truce on Friday, giving Israel 48 hours in which to agree to a mutual cessation of violence in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said.
Israeli missiles pounded Gaza on Friday, killing two Hamas militants and shaking the home of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, as Palestinian factions argued among themselves on whether to stop firing rockets into Israel.
The White House on Friday urged Israelis and Palestinians to spare "innocents" from attacks but said it expected Israel would defend itself from rockets launched at it by the Islamist movement Hamas.
Opinion polls in Israel on Friday predicted a tight race in the Labour party leadership contest, with former prime minister Ehud Barak and former homeland security chief Ami Ayalon out in front.
Gaza plan: Is Israel at the start of a new road? Palestinian militants have rejected a call by President Mahmoud Abbas to restore a ceasefire with Israel and stop violence between rival factions.
Israel rounded up a Palestinian Cabinet minister and 32 other Hamas leaders in the West Bank before dawn Thursday, trying a new tactic in its campaign to pressure the Islamic militant group into halting rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip.
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel's air force pounded the Gaza Strip early on Saturday hours after the Islamist group and other militants signalled softer terms for ending cross-border rocket salvoes.