Israel, Palestinian militants in Gaza trade fire as Egypt signals cease-fire imminent

By FARES AKRAM and ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and Palestinian militants were unleashing salvos of fire for a fifth straight day, with the Islamic Jihad militant group launching rockets and the Israeli military pounding targets inside the Gaza Strip and threatening to step up its campaign. But late Saturday, a state-run Egyptian TV channel said a cease-fire agreement would take effect later in the evening. Egypt often serves as a broker between the warring sides. Earlier, a Palestinian rocket killed one Palestinian laborer from Gaza who was working in Israel and seriously wounded another Palestinian man. Meanwhile, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. So far 34 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Gaza, at least 14 of them civilians.