Palestinian militants fire more rockets, Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza despite cease-fire efforts

By FARES AKRAM and ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants have fired rockets toward Jerusalem, further escalating the most violent confrontation in months between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip.  Israeli military stepped up airstrikes in Gaza, killing two Palestinians at an apartment in a Gaza City building in the afternoon, according to local media. Foreign mediators pressed ahead with efforts to reach a cease-fire. The past few days of fighting have killed 33 Palestinians in Gaza and a 70-year-old man in central Israel. The Israeli military said its warplanes struck Islamic Jihad rocket launchers. A burst of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip sent air raid sirens wailing. The cross-border exchanges have pitted Israel against Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza after Hamas.