Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have agreed to end their recent rocket attacks on Israel, and Israel has agreed to stop its retaliatory air and artillery strikes, Palestinian officials said today.

Palestinian police will stand firm against vigilantes, their spokesman said today, a day after gun battles between security forces and Hamas left three people dead and 50 wounded.

Israeli aircraft blasted suspected Palestinian weapons facilities and other militant targets throughout the Gaza Strip early today, at the launch of what the military said would be a “prolonged” offensive against Hamas militants for bombarding Israeli towns with rockets.

A Syria-based Palestinian faction said today that its truce with Israel was over following a missile strike by Israel that killed at least two Hamas militants in Gaza.

Three large explosions went off in central Gaza City today, and ambulances raced to the area, witnesses said.

A truck carrying masked militants and two home-made rockets blew up at a Hamas rally in Jebaliya, Gaza, today, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 85, hospital doctors said.

Thousands of masked Hamas gunmen marched in formation at a large victory rally in an empty Jewish settlement today, the Islamic militant group’s latest show of strength since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

A senior Israeli defence official today challenged the Palestinian Authority to close the open border between Gaza and Egypt, saying its credibility was on the line over its failure to stop the flow of gunrunners and others across the frontier.

A mysterious blast after nightfall tonight levelled a building in Gaza City, killing four people and wounding at least 30, residents and hospital officials said.

A major Palestinian militant group today declared it would fire no more rockets during Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, after a deadly barrage inadvertently killed a three-year-old Palestinian boy.

Less than a month before Israel begins pulling out of Gaza, almost every major issue about the territory’s future remains undecided.

The first Palestinian-Israeli summit in four months failed to advance peace prospects or solidify a shaky truce, leaving main issues unresolved and both sides disappointed.

Israel has agreed to hand over the West Bank town of Jenin to the Palestinians before withdrawing from four nearby West Bank settlements and the Gaza Strip this summer, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said today.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said today he will demand US President George Bush provide the Palestinians with strong political and financial support during a meeting next week.

The flare-up in violence in the Gaza Strip could delay Israel’s planned withdrawal from the crowded coastal area if Israel is forced to launch a new military campaign against Palestinian militants, a senior Israeli official warned today.