Egypt, Gaza | featured news

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi declared extensive political powers for himself on Thursday, taking broad and sweeping control of his country a day after he won international praise for fostering a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel agrees to end hostilities on land, sea and air and to halt targeted assassinations of militant leaders. Palestinians agree to stop rocket and border attacks... An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement to end eight days of clashes between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip relies heavily on the goodwill of two of the Middle East's bitterest enemies, but gave each enough to claim success.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire, the Egyptian foreign minister said Wednesday, ending eight days of fighting that killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis. The cease-fire is set to start at 9 p.m. Cairo time (2 p.m. ET), Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr announced in a news conference alongside visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Hamas said a truce had been reached between Israel and Gaza, though Israel couched the news by saying an agreement was close but not a done deal. Hamas official Ayman Taha said the truce would go into effect early Wednesday, according to Reuters news service.

The olive orchards and wheat fields lining the Gaza Strip border with Israel were always sparsely populated, but on Monday the area was a virtual no-man’s land. Fearing an Israeli ground invasion of the coastal strip, hundreds of families have fled.

Hundreds of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip arrived here by the busload on Saturday to pass through the reopened border into Egypt, taking a tangible step out of a four-year Israeli blockade.

Four different human rights groups have issued reports on rights violations in the Gaza Strip, with all major players - Israel, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian militant group Hamas - accused of wrongdoing.

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.