Palestinian | featured news

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees suspends relief imports into Gaza accusing the Hamas government of stealing food aid.

Palestinian militants fired mortar shells from southern Gaza at Israel and Israel carried out an air strike against what the military said were members of the launching squad.

Gaza militants launched two rockets into southern Israel Sunday, drawing a threat of “harsh and disproportionate” retaliation from Israel’s prime minister.

Palestinian militants fired a rocket from Gaza on Saturday that exploded close to the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon without causing any damages or injuries, an Israeli military spokesman said. Israeli forces and Gaza militants are supposed to refrain from attacking each other under a fragile cease-fire. The truce has been breached several times, making diplomatic efforts to build a lasting agreement difficult.

The Islamist Hamas group is calling for new leadership for Palestinians to replace the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) dominated by its arch-rival President Mahmoud Abbas and the factions loyal to him.

Egypt aired its grievances against Iran, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, saying they worked together in the fighting over Gaza to provoke conflict in the Middle East.

The Israeli military said that Palestinians detonated an explosive device near troops patrolling on the Israeli side of the Gaza border in the first incident since the cease-fire.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel will protect from prosecution any of its soldiers accused of war crimes in Gaza.

Israel all but ruled out on Friday a full reopening of border crossings with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip any time soon, leaving a shaky ceasefire and post-war reconstruction in doubt.

Israel withdrew the last of its troops from the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, and pursued diplomatic efforts to stanch the flow of arms into the Hamas-ruled territory.