Israel’s foreign minister said today his country would not negotiate with a new Palestinian government that included the Hamas militant group.

Israeli aircraft struck a Palestinian rocket squad in the Gaza Strip today, killing two militants as the military activated a new defence system to shoot down incoming rockets.

A SHIP sent by a Libyan charity to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip changed course in the Mediterranean Sea yesterday and instead appeared headed for an Egyptian port, signaling that it would avoid a showdown with the Israeli navy.

The United Nations will take to Gaza tons of aid supplies languishing in an Israeli port for two weeks since they were seized in a bloody sea confrontation, the Israeli military said.

THE United Nations will transfer tons of goods to Gaza from the international flotilla attacked by Israeli naval commandos two weeks ago under a new agreement with Israel, Israel’s military said yesterday.

Israeli warships attacked at least one of the six ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists and aid for blockaded Gaza today, killing at least ten and wounding an unknown number of people on board, reports said.

ISRAELI aircraft struck multiple targets in the Gaza Strip yesterday following a rocket attack on southern Israel.

Israeli aircraft struck multiple targets in the Gaza Strip today following a rocket attack on southern Israel.

Gaza’s top judge today ordered female lawyers to wear Muslim headscarves when they appear in court, the latest sign that the Islamic militant group is increasingly imposing its strict interpretation of Islamic law on residents of the coastal strip.

FROM a hideout in Gaza, the head of the Hamas government called for reconciliation between bitterly divided Palestinian factions and expressed hope for better relations with the US.

HAMAS government in Gaza was back in business yesterday, operating from makeshift offices because most administrative buildings were bombed.

Israel warned today it would step up its assault on Gaza until it had smashed the militants of Hamas.

Israel has called up thousands of reserve soldiers for a possible ground invasion as it widened its deadliest-ever air offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Israel will shortly release 229 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to the western-backed government of President Mahmoud Abbas, it was announced today.

HAMAS militants pounded southern Israel with a barrage of rockets yesterday, hours after Israeli forces killed six gunmen in a fresh bout of violence that threatened to unravel a five-month-old truce that has brought relief to both Gaza and southern Israel.

HAMAS released 17 jailed members of the rival Fatah faction yesterday, describing the men for the first time as political prisoners and saying it set them free as a goodwill gesture before Palestinian unity talks.

Russian troops have started dismantling positions in the so-called security zones inside Georgia that they have occupied since the war in August, Georgian and EU officials said.

BRITISH prime minister Gordon Brown demanded that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called off a ground-breaking visit to Gaza today in his role as Middle East envoy after a specific warning of an assassination plot.

The militant Hamas group said today it remained committed to a ceasefire with Israel but would not be Israel’s “police force” in dealing with splinter groups continuing the offensive.

A cameraman for the Reuters news agency was among more than a dozen people killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip today.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in a clash with Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza strip today.

Israeli troops opened fire on a car today, killing four Palestinian militants, medical officials said.

Deflecting rising anger over constant rocket attacks after a boy lost a leg, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today ruled out a broad military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Israel kept up its blockade of Gaza today despite warnings of a looming humanitarian disaster.

Israel kept up its blockade of Gaza today despite warnings of a looming humanitarian disaster.

Israeli aircraft killed two Hamas militants in Gaza fighting early today, a day after Israel sealed the territory and bombed an empty Hamas government ministry in an intensifying campaign to halt rocket fire on Israeli border towns.

THE leader of the militant Hamas government in Gaza said today President George W Bush’s visit to the region proved his bias towards Israel and hit Palestinian hopes for their own state.

The leader of the militant Hamas government in Gaza said today that President Bush’s visit to the region proved his bias toward Israel and hit Palestinian hopes for their own state.

Israel today began releasing 429 Palestinian prisoners.

TENS of thousands of Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip demonstrated yesterday against the Middle East peace conference in the US, while the Islamic militant group’s leader insisted it was “doomed to failure”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today called for the overthrow of Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers in his first explicit demand for their removal.

Human rights groups challenged Israel’s reduction of fuel supplies to Gaza and its intention to cut back on electricity, while Palestinians warned the measures could lead to a humanitarian crisis.

Four Hamas police officers were killed and two wounded tonight when a car exploded outside a Hamas security headquarters building in Gaza City, hospital and security officials said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Israel is ready to discuss “fundamental issues” with Palestinians who are now governed by leaders accepted by the Jewish state and the West.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with the entire Palestinian Cabinet today, a gesture of support for the team of moderates that replaced the Hamas government after the Islamic militants seized Gaza by force.

Israeli troops imposed a curfew on Nablus and clashed with Fatah militants as the army’s activities moved from Gaza to the West Bank today.

THE Israeli cabinet yesterday approved the release of frozen tax funds to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a step to bolster the moderate leader in his standoff against the Islamic militant group Hamas.

The European Union today said it would support the Palestinian government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the West Bank and urged Israel to do likewise.

Political rivals Hamas and Fatah will present a national unity government to the Palestinian parliament for approval on Saturday, capping months of stop-and-go negotiations interspersed by periods of deadly factional fighting, officials from both sides said.

Rival Palestinian delegations met in the dark hours of the morning as they prepared for crucial talks in the Saudi holy city Macca today on ending their bloody street battles and resuming the peace process with Israel.

Israel and the Palestinians can wrap up a final peace deal within two years, Israel’s deputy defence minister Ephraim Sneh said today, becoming the first senior Israeli official to propose a timeline for long-stalled peace talks

Fierce fighting between Hamas and Fatah militants in Gaza and the West Bank continued today despite an official ceasefire.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced today that he would call new presidential and parliament elections at the earliest possible date, in a bold challenge to ruling Hamas militants that risked sparking a full-scale civil war.